Survival Research Labs banned in San Francisco.

Survival Research Laboratories, the innovators of mechanized, fighting, burning, socio-political, destruction shows are in hot water with the San Francsico Fire Department again.
SRL founder, Mark Pauline, announced on their site today that they have been banned from performing in San Francisco by the San Francisco Fire Department.

In December 2011, Somarts, a local gallery venue,/arts support organization in the city asked SRL to participate in I am Crime, a show of artists who had been arrested for activities related to their work. The SRL participation was to have included an installation of one machine, the Spine Robot in the gallery and a one day street closure of Brannan Street between 8th and 9th for a short outdoor SRL event at the closing of the installation. The city of SF approved the street closure, but the SFFD, citing an SRL show from 1989, Illusions of Shameless Abundance stated that SRL would no longer be allowed to perform in San Francisco. This resulted in the outdoor show being called off by Somarts.

This is such shitty news.
SRL was founded in 1978. They worked out of San Francisco for thirty years, until moving to Petaluma, CA in 2008.

Mark Pauline, robot warrior.

On January 7, 2011 Mark Pauline, founder of Survival Research Laboratories, spoke at The Sonoma County Museum. This is part one. Here's part two, and here's part three.

SRL has been making robots and organizing robo destruction art political shows since the late 70's. I first read about them in the RE/Search's Industrial Culture Handbook. I remember reading about the Rabot, a rabbit corpse re-animated (well, it could make the motions as if it were running) through robotics. All those robot war shows and the robot vs. robot interest that peaked a couple of years ago, I trace directly to Mark Pauline and SRL.

Here, Mark Pauline talks about the secret military ingredients, the mechanics and the building of the Spine Robot. In the third part, Mark answers questions, shows footage from older shows, discusses safety and his damaged hand, and talks about the the sounds and theatrical elements at SRL shows. Pauline says, "All that noise, and the chaos, and fire. The things that cause a kind of primal reaction. What happens is when you're exposed that, when humans are exposed to that, and it's very well documented, things happen to you. Your adrenaline levels go up. Your IQ drops a little bit. So, your ability to analyze what's going on is reduced to some extent. Your reactions to things are more emotional." SRL fills in the hot robot action with these primal experiences; fire, explosion, deafening sounds, and visuals to create a truly overwhelming experience.

I finally got to see them live at a "secret show" after 2007's Maker Faire. I had a press pass and was sitting with the crew as they commanded their steel warriors to unleash hell on each other.

It was super loud, there was fire, chaos, the hovercraft exhaust was covered with excrutiatingly loud horns, the SRL guys were running around, the press was getting dangerously close to the robots, the strong winds blew hot ash into the crowd, there was screaming, wooden structures were smashed, the fire department came, a burned woman was taken away. It was incredible.