Who Can Help An Amateur With Her Delivery?

Description:

Who Can Help An Amateur With Her Delivery? is an installation work by Ian Murray with two channels of audio, one channel of video, and a seating area.

The seating area is in the centre of the room in rows. The seats are between two large speakers, one of which has a video monitor on top. The video image alternates between the building of a “livingroom set” in the Grand Luxe Hall; the editing system used in editing the videotape; a still of a transmission-receiving dish; a man editing the audiotape heard on the “rear” speaker; and a recording console’s metres responding to an orchestra rehearsal.

The front speaker plays the ambient sound of the space shown on the videotape while the rear speaker plays three interviews conducted by an advertising agency for Maxwell House Coffee. The interviews are initially presented in their uncut and unprocessed version. The next section has just the interviewer/director’s voice with the women edited out. The third section features just the women’s responses. The tape ends with the women's voices edited to remove all pauses and errors—forming a continuous monologue as is heard in the actual advertisements. 
Murray began Who Can Help An Amateur With Her Delivery? in 1978, with principal shooting done at Ryerson Media Centre, Toronto. Final shooting and editing was completed at Western Front while Murray was in residence. The work features set design and construction by Robin Collyer. 

The work ran for fifty-seven minutes, and played every hour on the hour. 

Video documentation is available upon request.