dead-in-iraq

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dead-in-iraq, 2006 - ongoing

Watch:
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) TV Interview 1/4/07 on the show The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

Listen:
NPR Weekend America Interview
10/28/06 (realplayer) or go to iTunes and search for Weekend America.

Read:
Q & A with Joseph DeLappe

This work commenced in March of 2006, to roughly coincide with the 3rd anniversary of the start of the Iraq conflict. I enter the online US Army recruiting game, "America's Army", in order to manually type the name, age, service branch and date of death of each service person who has died to date in Iraq. The work is essentially a fleeting, online memorial to those military personnel who have been killed in this ongoing conflict. My actions are also intended as a cautionary gesture.

I enter the game using as my login name, "dead-in-iraq" and proceed to type the names using the game's text messaging system. As is my usual practice when creating such an intervention, I am a neutral visitor as I do not participate in the proscribed mayhem. Rather, I stand in position and type until I am killed. After death, I hover over my dead avatar's body and continue to type. Upon being re-incarnated in the next round, I continue the cycle.

As of 6/15/09, I have input 4042 names. I intend to keep doing so until the end of this war. As of this date there have been 4313 American service persons killed in Iraq. (source - http://icasualties.org/oif/)

"America's Army" is the online recruiting game and PR tool of the United States Army. For more information go to:

http://www.sourcewatch.org
http://www.americasarmy.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk

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Order a copy of Issue #23 of Arthur Magazine to read the article Playing Dead by Ed Halter.

Here are some online news stories regarding the project:

Sydney Morning Herald Shoot to Thrill - Fran Malloy
Salon.com Virtually Dead in Iraq - Rebecca Clarren
Wired.com Dead in Iraq: It's No Game - Kathleen Craig
Rhizome.org Deadly Games - Marissa Olson
Gamespy.com A New Kind of Art Form Leads to a New Kind of Protest - Li C. Kuo
warandvideogames.com dead-in-iraq - Ed Halter
Gaminghorizon.com Digital Protest: Artist Uses U.S. Army’s Video Game to Make a Statement - Evan Lahti

Here are some blogs that have been engaging in dialogue or posting information about this project: