The Force
AC/DC Shifter
Jack Daniels Drinking Fountain
Weiner Roller
Smoking Table
Ned Troide was singularly famous for scoring 72,999,975
points on the video game Defender, the highest score ever recorded, in a
single session lasting 62 1/2 hours. What is
less known is that he also created a curious set of Heavy Metal end tables
.
Troide said the tables were the furniture he needed and that he didn't understand why they were not available for sale at the local furniture store.
The Force
Have you done anything for 62 1/2 hours much play an exhausting game like
Defender? To do so requires great dedication and intense concentration. Ned
prepared himself for this incredible feat with the aid of his meditation
chair, The Force, which includes a 10", 100 watt powered subwoofer (mounted
into the back of the chair) and integrated headphones which played a custom
mantra ("I am your father").
Here's a pic of me
working on The Force
AC/DC Shifter
A strange music playing device that played six songs of the band AC/DC
simultaneously and allowed Troide to mix the six tracks using a set of
tractor shifters.
Jack Daniels Drinking Fountain
An ornate cabinet with a built in drinking fountain that served Jack Daniels
whiskey.
Weiner Roller
Strange combination fake fireplace and commercial-style hot dog cooker.
Smoking Table and "Smoking" Table
Two matched tables one providing an ashtray and a 12 volt car lighter for
smoking cigarettes and the other providing a water pipe and butane torch for
smoking marijuana.
(Ned Troide's works will be shown for the first time in NYC at the brand
new LMCC gallery opening Sept 29, 2005 - 125 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor,
(Financial District)). Here is an installation pic
(click)
What is this about?
Ned Troide is a Real-Imagined character. He is real in that he really is the world champion of the video game Defender, he really did score 72,999,975 points in 62 and half hours, and he really did appear in Life magazine's 1982 edition of The Year in Pictures. He is imaginary in that he didn't make this furniture (I did), and the character portrait that is painted with this furniture, the narrative that you imagine, is just that: imaginary.
I have always been interested in human follies, especially follies that come about from technology. Ned's furniture explores the current cultural schism of mass produced goods from China and Sweden (which is really from China) vs locally crafted unique objects. Ned wants the things he wants and those things cannot be bought at Wal-Mart, or Target or Ikea. We see this schism played out in our culture today through the Maker and Crafter movements (if you can't open it you don't own it).
The other aspect of this work artistically, an aspect that I feel represents a growth in my practice as an artist is the creation of a narrative through objects. I am trying to create a story of a character (Ned Troide) through sculptures and the interactivity of them. When you eat a hot dog from the Weiner Roller, you are Ned Troide, you become him. You and I imagine him and become this character through the shared experience of the interactions: the fatty juice of the hotdogs running down our chins, the wobbly knees of the over sampling of the Jack Daniels Fountain, the enveloping experience of The Force.
Paul Davies, June 2008