FAMULUS

i always wanted to hack a vacuum cleaner. so i bought one on ebay for 1€. opened it up and stuffed it with a bass speaker. broke the speaker while putting it in. the speaker massages the hand while one holds the cleaner. it is not a loud artwork. and it feels good though it makes absolutely no sense to anyone else.

the official text:

the FAMULUS project consists of an intelligent modified vacuum cleaner and the FAMULUS server. it is a replacement of the ubiquitous desktop metaphor feature of the trash bin. instead of moving unwanted trash into the bin, it is sent over to the FAMULUS, that consumes the digital debris for the satisfaction of the user. the FAMULUS features an empirically modelled realistic sounding vacuum cleaning noise that expresses the complexity of the object sucked in. plug-ins are used in order to hand over as many data types as possible. currently, FAMULUS can successfully imbibe e-mail messages and RSS feed items. the latter even opens up the chance to automatise the process of digital scavenging.?? (from the “FAMULUS web site”:http://famulus.attacksyour.net)

the piece is called FAMULUS because that is the brand of the vacuum cleaner. it is about 85% done. will finish it for the first exhibition.

of course, FAMULUS comments on the appropriation of technology. i am writing a lot about that issue nowadays.