Cheaper by the Dozen is a proposal for the installation of one or more “smart” lightbulbs within the structure of the Athens Digital Art Festival. The lightbulbs will be programmed to follow the terms of the EU’s Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) which requires EU countries to guarantee the working time rights for all workers (such as a limit to total weekly working hours, consecutive hours, periods of rest and holiday). When activated, the lightbulbs will shine continuously during “working” hours, and go dim or change colour when in “non-work” mode.
The work continues the artist’s interest in algorithmic law, the processes of automation, and the political implications of the “internet of things”, together with the history of technology and visualisation. The title of the work is a homage to Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, pioneers of scientific management and the study of time and motion, who used the technique of light painting frequently in their work, and also wrote the biographical novel on which the film of the same name was based.
