1+1=2 (2006)
Found machinery, calculator, paper.
(12 x 4 x 4 inches)
A motor is attached to a paper-fed calculator which prints on a single loop of paper. The motor drives gears which move an arm back and forth to repeatedly press the equals "=" button on the calculator. This action completes the equation "1 + 1" giving the next integer, which is simultaneously displayed on the calculator's screen and printed on the loop. One cycle takes about ten seconds. Thus the calculator starts at one and counts upward by one, ad infinitum. Since the paper has been looped through the feed the calculator eventually prints over past computations, obscuring the printout. Only when the machine reaches a new decimal place (10's, 100's, 1000's, etc.) does the left-most digit again become readable for a brief period. While the piece presents a statement on never-ending systems, we know that logically there must be an endpoint-- the calculator will either cease to function, reach an incalculable number, or the power will be turned off. Thus the piece may more accurately be a description of the time required (or wasted) in carrying out its process, than about any theory of infinity.


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