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| Production still from Melrose Place/Gala Committe, 1996, showing Allison with RU 486 Quilt. "RU 486 Quilt," 1996. Applique on cotton fabric, 62 x 53 inches |
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“Melrose Place/Gala Committee”
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A scene on the hit television series "Melrose Place" opens with two characters, a man and a woman, lying in bed. They awake, only to begin plotting the demise of other characters on the show. A familiar situation on a series where sex, greed, and jealousy are dominant plot lines, what is unusual about this scene is the set in which the characters are filmed and the objects with which they interact. What at first seems like an ordinary bedroom ensemble becomes strange and humorous upon closer inspection. The black-and-white, contemporary design of the sheets and pillowcases is actually made from an interlocking pattern of unrolled condoms. Subtle enough in its look and placement to bypass the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) regulations banning the depiction of unrolled condoms on primetime television, the bedroom set pushes the envelope of what is and what is not acceptable on television. The sheets have a curious way of simultaneously enforcing and questioning stereotypes prevalent in the scene. In one sense, they underline the sexual activity and innuendo at play, making it seem only natural that the sex-obsessed characters of "Melrose Place" would decorate their bedroom in this way. At the same time, however, the unrolled condoms have a darker side, suggesting the need for safe sex, the prevalence of disease, and the control one must take over one's body and health.
Viewers who noticed these sheets were witness to the debut of "In
the Name of the Place," a multi-media artwork by the GALA Committee.
A collaborative project initiated by artist Mel Chin, the objects,
props,
and sets
for "In the Name of the Place" were designed and produced by a group
of artists consisting mainly of students and teachers from the University
of Georgia, Athens, and the California Institute of the Arts in
Valencia. Each week, the GALA committee would receive advance copies
of the highly confidential " Melrose Place" script and propose props
for the set of the show. These props acted as visual subplots, responding
to the storyline of the show in witty and often overtly political
ways. In this way, a container of Chinese food smuggled slogans
from the Tiananmen Square protest onto primetime television. In
another example, a pregnant Allison (played by Courtney Thorne-Smith)
is shown working on a large quilt, but the image that unfolds is
the chemical structure for RU486 - the controversial abortion pill.
Inserting visual juxtapositions wherever possible, GALA's objects
address subjects that are often too difficult to examine on a sitcom
or nighttime soap. Modeling the project after the way a virus spreads,
GALA's alterations often go unnoticed at first. But with subsequent
airings, fans began to pick up on the unfolding visual drama. With
the show now airing in syndication all over the world, GALA's objects
spread their messages slowly and subversively. In 1996, GALA mounted
an exhibition of the hundreds of objects produced for the show at
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. |
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