Stephanie Smith: We'll start the interview just with you, Brennan. Your collaborators, the artists' group Temporary Services, will add their comments at the end of our conversation. Could you start by explaining how the Audio Relay (AR) came into being, what it is, and how Temporary Services was (and is) involved in the project?

Brennan McGaffey: In 2002, Brett [Bloom, of Temporary Services] approached me about designing a portable audio unit. The idea was that it could travel and accumulate a library of unusual audio CDs. But it wouldn't just collect the CDs, it would also be able to play them and act as a small exhibit. I added a radio transmitter so that entire neighborhoods can become engaged. I'm responsible for the design and construction plus maintenance. The AR was made for Temporary Services and is part of their ongoing project on mobile structures. They also put together the Chicago version of the audio archive.

SS: The AR is one of a group of works that you call the Intermod Series. The series includes a number of objects that you have designed and engineered to cause subtle, temporary disruptions to public space and to invisible networks and systems like power grids and radio waves. Could you say more about the series, and how the AR relates to those other works?

BM: The Intermod Series is a group of projects I've created that generate some form of interference, which up to this point has been mostly electromagnetic interference in which I use radio, power lines, stuff like this. But some have involved atmospheric interference and I'll probably come up with others in the future. I consider the AR to be part of this series.

SS: Could you describe one of the Intermod projects?

BM: My last project was titled Utility-Intertied Signal Generation and Transfer (USG&T) (2003). The USG&T is a special portable electronic unit that I designed to plug into the electrical grid and automatically pattern a pulse-wave signal, distributing it using the network's alternating current. The device transmitted a special type of signal- an Extremely Low Frequency signal-by using and altering the electromagnetic field surrounding the power network in localized areas of Chicago. The signal was inaudible and relied on a passive bioreception. (Additional information about any of these projects is available at the Intermod Series Website, including any updates.)

SS: You've said that the Intermod projects "generate interference." This occurs in a literal way when you temporarily disrupt the electrical grid or radio frequencies. Could you also talk about interference as a strategy for your art practice?

BM: It creates something phenomena-like. If you put one of the Intermod projects in a place where someone is expecting something unusual then its effectiveness is neutralized. Putting art out where it isn't expected is far more interesting. So the project starts as form of interference, but I hope it's more than simply a disruption.

SS: Your projects usually disrupt systems in far-reaching but invisible ways. We can't see the radio waves, but we can see and touch the objects that cause that disruption, as well as the logos and other materials that you design to accompany each Intermod piece. They're very carefully designed; the Intermod Series has a consistent visual aesthetic. What's the relationship between function and form in the Intermod Series?

BM: Hmmm. Design of the objects and graphics would be what you mean by form, right? It's all important. I immerse myself in design strategies that seem relevant for each project. For the AR I was looking at portable radio units, especially military designs. But I never take that too far. Familiarity is one thing, copying outright another.

SS: Were there other sources of inspiration for the objects? For the AR, for instance, were you drawing on sources apart from military technology? I'm thinking of things like sleek, super-lightweight camping gear.

BM: The antenna for the AR collapses or folds for storage. An elastic shock-cord runs through the center of the tubing and binds the antenna sections together. It stretches when you fold it. Anyone reading this who is a backpacker will immediately recognize this design as originating in lightweight tent pole construction. The materials are different, as antennas need to be conductive, but the use of the cord addressed perfectly the problem of keeping the pieces of the antenna together.

SS: Camping and military gear are mass-produced objects. The Intermod objects (thus far at any rate) are all laboriously handmade and have an impeccably finished look. Is that important to your con- cept for the work?

BM: That it's handmade? No, not really, but most originals for mold making, even in industry, are still handmade. It would be fine with me if I could send something out to be produced somewhere else, but it's simply not possible for financial reasons. My projects are mostly out-of-pocket. If money ever becomes available for it, I think the AR should be plastic mold-injected. Right now, it's not as durable as it could be.

SS: I'm also interested in your use of marketing strategies for these underground, even illicit projects. For instance you have a "brand" logo for the whole Intermod Series, and each individual project has its own slightly retro-feeling logo that you've transformed into stamps, stickers, and at least one poster. Sometimes you've incorporated these materials into mailers that you send out anonymously; they're like small multiples but also spread the word about the projects to those who can't experience the piece in action.

BM: I'm not really marketing my projects, of course. But, yeah, the insidious public relations industry has proven itself to be extremely effective at mass opinion shaping. The history of its development is enlightening along with its connection to psychiatry, intelligence agencies, and so on. Clandestine versions of marketing and control are also very instructive. Borrowing from all these strategies can create a pleasant confusion. Designing logos is just part of this, along with the packaging and presentation. Functionally, logos also help identify the projects and give them focus since they are sent out anonymously.