Excerpt from "Experiments in Manipulation of Field Energy"
In a series of videos recorded and broadcast on local cable in 2007, I had actors perform a series of experiments that appeared to alter physical reality in impossible ways. In one segment, an actor places his hand over a stream of running water and changes its color. Five of these segments were included in the broadcast, and in each a narrator used phony scientific jargon to describe how each experiment was accomplished. Some of this jargon included phrases like 'field energy manipulation', 'reverse oculation', 'polarized nerve stimulation'. At the start of each segment the narrator would reiterate that the videos documented actual scientific feats. At the end of the broadcast only a screen with a contact address for "more information" was displayed. In the following days, the station received 80+ calls from viewers who wanted to know whether the program was real.
Each video necessitated the creation of a large indoor "nature" sets so that every aspect of production could be perfectly controlled. When possible, set elements would be brought in from outdoors. For every segment, however, at least one set piece needed to be fabricated or altered so the video would seem "more real." In the piece included on this disc, the rock over which colored water flows was coated to intensify reflectivity.
*Broadcast on Local Cable Television in Massachusetts
*Segments from this video were shown at the RISD Museum Wunderground show.
