AVATARS: The Rumours, is a project by French artist Magali Claude designed to propagate rumors through their dissemination on matchbook covers and in classified listings in New York City.
Fascinated by the distortion of information through the process of retelling, Claude has crafted a series of environmental rumors. Each evocative phrase-- Another Will Consume All The Light; Darkness Will Close In On The Earth; The Atmosphere Might Change--is deliberately ambiguous to provoke multiple interpretations. With each social exchange the rumors gather momentum with misconstrued associations. The artist's intent is to see how these misinterpretations play into our fears and shape our daily existences.
Curious individuals can follow Claude's clues by calling Creative Time (206.6674 x261) to hear a hypnotic audioscape read by poet Nicole Blackman or by visiting the on-line interpretation of her rumors. Claude's strategy shares kinship with the time honored tradition of exchanging gossip over the back fence, yet in our media savvy environment, the back fence has expanded to encompass phonelines, the Internet, and virtually any printable surface.
Magali Claude's AVATARS: The Rumours is a part of Creative Time's continued commitment to presenting experimental public artworks that investigate the role of art and the artist in our urban landscape. Call 212.206.6674 for more information.
AVATARS: The Rumours is presented with support from Étant Donnés, the French-American Endowment for Contemporary Art.
