PRE-CRIME TRIPTYCH
The works ID Sniper (2002) and Face Jagger (2015) are the first 2 completed parts of a 'pre-crime triptych'. Both art pieces revolve around a 'fictitious hi-tech weapon' presented in a 'real environment.' In the case of ID Sniper that environment was an arms fair in China ("China Police 2002") and in the case of Face Jagger: a surveillance fair in California ("ASIS 2016").
"Face Jagger ( performance still)", photographic print, 30 x 50 inches, Jakob S. Boeskov, 2015
Face Jagger, 2015, 30x25x8 inches, 3D printed facemasks, flightcase, LED lightstrip
Each part of the triptych represents an artistic action that deals with the notion of “pre-crime”—a term coined by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. This concept describes methods of stopping crimes not yet committed. The concept was introduced in a novel from 1956, but the term could be used to describe many current practices in contemporary law enforcement and military strategy. In each part of the Pre-Crime Triptych I present an “imaginary weapon” in a real environment. In the past I have called this artistic practice “Sci-Fi Conceptual Art” or “Fictionism,” and although those terms were not precise, they helped explain the projects’ operations. A more precise term to describe the technique used in the Pre-Crime Triptych would be “The Artefact Method.”
1: An artefact, here defined as “a product from the future,” will be presented in a “real environment” (not an art space)
2: The artist will exhibit and present the artifact in the “real environment”
3: Nobody in this environment may know that the artist is an artist (this means that the artist must be alone)
4: When the piece is finally exhibited in an art space, it will consist of two elements: the artefact and a documentation of the environment where the artefact was originally exhibited
ID Sniper, 2002 (performance still), photographic print, 30 x 50 inches,
"ID Sniper" 70x50x20 inches, 3D printing, steel, aluminium, mounted in plexiglass case, Jakob S. Boeskov @ Populism, Frankfurter Kunstverein, 2005.
Below: Talk on the Pre Crime Triptych at The National Arts Club, New York, March 14th 2017
(Please note: No video/audio only for the first 30 seconds)