The Corporate Headquarters
The Corporate Headquarters marks the largest and most successful installation Dedo Vabo has built to date, receiving accolades in both Rolling Stone Magazine and the LA Times (links below).
Rising over 3 1/2 stories, the structure was a realistic, mock office building with 3 functioning floors and a full-size Jet Ranger helicopter on the roof. Inside the structure was a rotating cast of 75 performers that dressed in hippopotamus costumes and performed nonstop for 12 hours a day. Mechanical gags and special FX were scattered throughout the interior and exterior of the structure, along with various multimedia elements and an interactive telephone system.
Listen below for a brief explanation...
3 STORIES 0F MADNESS - 12 HOURS A DAY
The Corporate Headquarters was a living installation with a cast and crew of 130 people
that performed nonstop for 6 full days, 12 hours a day.
"The wily performer sMaShEd his equipment, rolled around on the ground and growled like a wild animal in front of a mesmerized crowd at the Coachella Festival. The evening's headliners, AC/DC, had a hard act to follow and would eventually prove tame in comparison." - Lorraine Ali, LA Times
The structure itself was built utilizing 20' shipping containers, modified, stacked on top of each other and then skinned with over 2,500 panels of faux grass. A team of 30 crew members contributed their expertise to the success of The Corporate Headquarters including engineers from Boeing and Tech Shop. The Corporate Headquarters was the result of the combined collaboration of a variety of skilled artists and technicians along with the work of over 100 volunteers.
Each floor of the piece acted as an interactive stage, displaying rooms one may find in an average, corporate office but filled with gags, gimmicks and special FX. Over 75 security cameras were installed to monitor the crowd in true corporate fashion. A Xerox machine was rigged to continuously spew out paper, slowly filling the room up with copies. A battery powered office chair mounted onto continuous tread allowed the CEO on the top floor to drive his chair around like a tank. Desks and file cabinets were outfitted with high powered fans so anytime papers were placed inside them, they immediately blew out. Holes cut into the ceilings and floors allowed a single rope and pully to pass a bucket full of vegetables, money and broken dreams between each subsequent floor.
A red service phone was placed outside which allowed spectators to contact the hippo employees working inside (but only after navigating a frustrating automated customer service menu system).