ABOUT
What is the Thank You Error Monitor (TYEM)?
The Thank You Error Monitor is an audio/visual art object that contains two channels. One channel for the video art your monitor is preloaded with, and a second channel that is updated regularly over wifi with the Thank You Error Screening Series, curated by the Midnight Milk Show.
What is the Thank You Error Screening Series?
The Thank You Error Screening Series was started by Midnight Milk Show in 2016 as a way for us to show Midnight Milk Show episodes curated alongside fellow artists' videos. With the launch of the TYEM we will showcase artists in multiple locations at once. The screening series broadcasts experimental animations and Midnight Milk Show episodes along with other moving image experiments, shorts, puppet shows, sketches, music videos, and showcases of drawings/paintings/sculptures/etc. Think of it as our public access artist variety show.
What is the mission/ ideas behind making a tiny screen for video art screenings?
Through the TYEM, Midnight Milk Show will provide an affordable way for video art to be displayed in homes and community spaces and experienced as a physical, tactile, stand alone moving painting. We want the TYEM to provide a space and format to share work that can be left running and looping on the wall and appreciated away from online distractions, without reliance on a phone or laptop. This allows video art to come in and out of attention in the periphery, and be slowly soaked up and appreciated over a longer exposure than traditional screenings, exhibitions, or social media can provide. We also want a place for our work, and those who want to join us, that is not run by algorithms or infinite scrolls.
Where will the TYEM be displayed/sold?
The TYEM will be displayed/sold in public spaces such as gallery stores, cafes, record shops, venues, and other art adjacent small businesses and community spaces. The screening series will be on view in all locations with no purchase necessary. You can view the current locations at thankyouerror.com.
What is the Midnight Milk Show?
The Midnight Milk Show had its beginnings in 2016 as a collaboration between Eric Ashcraft (TR) and Jordan Wason (J.R.), who were both working on Kafka-esque (or Kaufman-esque) corporations as artworks. Their love of slapstick absurdism, surreal sci-fi, and found materials led to a variety of happenings in collaboration with their artistic peers. The most formative being the Midnight Milk Auction, where unsold art is destroyed on the spot. Since the beginning, they have always kept the Thank You Error Screenings going, showcasing animators on CRT T.V. loops and projections at every auction event since 2017.
What videos come on the preloaded channel?
Every monitor is different! Like trading cards! The preloaded channel is the art you keep. You can let it loop endlessly as a video painting.
How much do they cost?
The TYEM has a MSRP of $150. This price point keeps the monitor affordable while providing a profit margin that can be reinvested in producing more monitors to expand viewership, as well as putting on the free Midnight Milk Show live events, especially the Midnight Milk Auction which operates at a loss by design in order to give all auction profits to the artists.
What do the artists get?
The screening series is currently promotional and does not provide financial compensation. All current and past artists will be listed on the website at thankyouerror.com. If this project grows we would like to become either a non-profit or an A-Corp (Artist Corporation) that can receive grants or investments to provide artists with production stipends for exclusive TYEM programming.
What do the stores get?
Retail locations make $50/unit sold at the MSRP of $150. They also get listed on our website as a place for people to go view and buy the monitors.
Who owns the rights to the videos?
Artists warrant that they own all rights to the work they submit. Artists keep the rights to their work. They give Midnight Milk Show a limited, non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, and publically display the submitted Artwork on the TYEM for an agreed upon period.
TECHNICAL
What are the playback touch controls on the TYEM?
The TYEM uses simple touch screen controls.
Tap to skip to the next video,
Double Tap to switch between Channels. Each channel has its own video playlist.
Long Press for >1 second to toggle mute/unmute.
Super Long Press for 15 seconds to put the monitor to sleep.
The monitor uses a BigEndian/LittleEndian glitch as a touch visualizer.
How do I sync the screening series channel?
Every time the device is booted it does a brief wifi check and will sync upon connecting. If it does not have the credentials for a nearby network, it will cast a captive portal. Look for this temporary network on your smartphone or computer under available wifi and connect to it. It will provide a pop up window where you can input your wifi information. This information will be saved for future boots until you overwrite it.
Can I skip the wifi setup?
Yes! If you prefer to skip wifi setup you can press the TYEM screen for 1 second during the wifi sync to go straight to video playback. You will still be able to watch any previously downloaded videos, and the preloaded videos your monitor came with.