Meredith Danluck

In 1965, Robert Moog invented the first commer- cially available synthesizer, the Rogue. For my 2003 show at Andrew Kreps, I dismantled a number of toy synthesizers, easily bought at Kmart and Toys 'R' Us, which in the 1960s would have been consid- ered advanced synthesis technology. These toy parts were reconfigured into the "Rogue Rogue," a homemade synthesizer whose buttons triggered dif- ferent sound banks. Instead of a linear progression of notes like those found on a piano, the internal structure of the "Rogue Rogue" was based on a grid, so even the most adept musician had to reorganize his or her thinking. I subsequently made a video with the synthesizer, inspired by Laurie Anderson's green-screen videos from the early 1980s. Anderson's love affair with technology, combined with her strong yet humorous political views created a uniquely weird and distinctly '80s body of work. In 1981 she had a No. 1 hit in the U.K. with the song "O Superman" a simple song, relying heavily on a repeated sample of the vowel "A." I wanted to make a music video to go along with my invention, as well as an ode to Laurie Anderson, a true pioneer and barrier breaker. I filmed myself on a green screen, triggering certain sounds and singing vowels, to be rearranged in a sequencer later in the editing process. Out of these samples a full song was created.