 Portrait (1995-1998)
Microcontrollers, modems, balance beam, counter, phone lines;
20x18x8 plus power module; 15lbs.
Status: available
Portrait is a real-time model of the artist with a resolution of thirty days, and is
composed of two elements linked by telephone.
 A wooden box with a brass button plate on its top is situated in
the artist's home. He must enter into this control device a private code at least
once every thirty days. At the home of the piece's owner is a sculpture composed of
a mechanical counter in a small iron cage hanging from an old balance-beam scale.
On the floor a few feet away, connected to the scale by a cable, is a small oak box
which contains the communication and control system. This device is plugged into
the owner's phone line. Once a month, the scale unit calls the control unit and
checks to see whether the code has been updated within the past thirty days. If so,
the sculpture calls back again in another month. If not, it permanently ceases to
function.
 The balance beam, which has a maximum travel of 90 degrees,
is moved by a very slow motor one degree per year of the artist's life; the counter in the
cage increments once per day. This results in a model of the artists mortality accurate to
within thirty days.
 Portrait rests on a shelf or pedestal with its control unit on
the floor nearby. It requires a continuous 120v power source and an an extension jack onto
the owner's phone line.
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