Ellen Mueller Tracking an Artist

I chose to focus on the aesthetics and apparatus of waiting with my interactive installation, The Waiting Room, because it is an act that all humans have in common in this age of global capitalism. We wait for planes, buses, prescriptions, meetings, appointments, paperwork, jobs, degrees, and so on. The act of waiting seems to hold promise, as if we will be rewarded at the end of our wait, which we sometimes are. It can be a hopeful act. However, the act of waiting can also turn sour as it drags on to a point that feels unacceptable given preconceived expectations.

The presence of a waiting area triggers a number of intriguing reactions in passersby and participants. For example, some feel guilt as they assume they have just cut in line, others feel an urgency to join in the waiting as if they have arrived late, some ignore the line but do not question its presence. All of these reactions are triggered by the same situation, and are conditioned into humans by day to day activities and interactions. These reactions are products of a shared culture of waiting in lines we have come to accept.