Ken Feingold’s piece “Box of Men” addresses the concept of justice and jury-driven judicial sentencing. “Box of Men” displays several puppet/doll-like figures sitting within a suitcase (All digitally displayed on an LED screen, not physical puppets or suitcases), meant to represent a jury. They hold discussions amongst themselves about an unspecified crime that they are overseeing, endlessly so long as the program running them is executed. Their dialogue isn’t
predetermined but rather generated by a program that assigns somewhat relevant lines to each puppet/doll and gives them an order in which to speak. According to Feingold, “The work explores the idea that those who decide the guilt or innocence of others may be acting in frighteningly arbitrary and seemingly random ways. The puppets assume the role of a tribunal or jury, talking about others as if from an objective point of view, but clearly objectivity has nothing to do with this picture.”[1] It is an interesting work that brings up the unnerving notion that our own judiciary systems may employ mentalities such as the ones Feingold is portraying in his work.

[1]: Official artist’s statement