doug aitken: the sleepwalkers box

the ‘sleepwalkers box’ by doug aitken all images courtesy princeton architectural press and the artist

designboom has just received a new project by doug aitken, in an experimental collaboration with princeton architectural press and DFA records, entitled ‘the sleepwalkers box‘. the artist has compiled a multi-sensory experience limited edition, printed in 1,000 copies, for its user to discover a collection of visual, aural, and tactile artifacts from doug aitken’s 2007 MoMA facade projection.

the building’s exterior film has been recorded in the forms of both a DVD and two flipbooks which help the user to visualize the installation in a more interactive manner. included in ‘the sleepwalker box’ are recorded conversations between the artist and tilda swinton, chan marshall, seu jorge, donald sutherland, ryan donowho, cibelle, julian sands, and pritzker prize-winning architect jacques herzog. the kit boasts a live recording of doug aitken’s opera performance ‘the handle comes up, the hammer comes down’ which has been created in both a CD and limited vinyl picture disk for the user to experience. also featured in the box set is music by artists broadcast, bibio, canyon country and tim hecker, supervised by jonathan galkin of DFA records and large full-color, two-sided posters by the artist included to further emphasize his sleepwalkers sentiment.

doug aitken’s project ‘song 1’ is currently on display at washington DC, USA’s hirshhorn museum. see designboom’s coverage of the work here.

the kit, deconstructed

a vinyl from the box

each of the 1,000 boxes created has a number and signature denoting authenticity

side b and a of the 23 x 36 in double-sided poster

the two flipbooks contain motion sequences stills from the film and the film’s projection upon the facade of MoMA

projection on the exterior of MoMA

the artist at work

doug aitken: sleepwalkers, documentation of the exhibition by MoMAvideos

‘the handle comes up the hammer comes down’, an opera by doug aitken is included on the vinyl picture disc included in ‘the sleepwalkers box’ video by doug aitken workshop

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