Exhibitions

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE: ANSWERING MACHINE​

Crappy Magic Showroom (The Packing Plant) / 507 Hagan St. May 25, 2019 - June 8, 2019

David Hellams, Erin Plew 

Come on in, have a seat in the living room, and listen to this family drama of aging, death, and betrayal, told through a series of real-life messages found intact on a vintage answering machine. While uncomfortably personal in nature, there is a universal pathos to messages related to this family’s arrangements for hospice care and offers of assistance and condolence. But the recording takes on an unexpected dimension when a relative, also possibly ailing, and definitely feeling left out on this particular day, refuses to accept that no one is able (or willing?) to take his call….

The once-privileged information found on this obsolete device may provide a meaningful point of reflection for contemporary viewers. In illness, in death, in difficulties within our families—and perhaps now in the hands of a faceless network of data aggregators—we are at our most vulnerable.

The answering machine is from the collection of Erin Plew, a professional Art Director for film and television, who acquired it for a production and decided to keep it after it was not ultimately used on set. As it turned out, the cassette therein told an authentic story of its own, one that feels at times scripted for dramatic effect. Crappy Magic is pleased to collaborate with Erin on her vision for an installation built around this answering machine, combining elements of her work as a production designer and Crappy Magic’s ongoing mission of cutting-edge experimental retail.