On Symptoms of Cultural Industry

'On Symptoms of Cultural Industry' investigates the role of artistic and cultural production in relation to the economic and social life of North Adams, Massachusetts. Through original research interviews with employees of Sprague Electric—the manufacturer that originally occupied the massive industrial complex that is today MASS MoCA—and in response to living in this city, the work comprehensively manifests as performance, video, installation and a book. It forms an intimate portrait of a city that has transformed from an economy of manufacturing goods and materials to increasingly manufacturing culture and information.

'On Symptoms of Cultural Industry' was produced by Bureau for Open Culture in collaboration with the artists Timothy Nazzaro, Nate Padavick, Rachel Sherk and Cassandra Troyan.

Bureau for Open Culture is a nomadic institution for the contemporary arts operated by James Voorhies. Its shape-shifting critical practice seeks to re-imagine the art exhibition as a means of social connectivity and learning. It utilizes art as a vehicle for initiating relations among individuals, initiating new institutional behaviors.