dead-in-iraq: performance/memorial/protest

The project dead-in-iraq commenced in March of 2006 to roughly coincide with the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq conflict. I enter the online US Army recruiting game, America's Army (8.5 million registered users worldwide; http://www.americasarmy.com/), in order to manually type the name, age, service branch, and date of death of each service person who has died to date in Iraq. The work is essentially a fleeting, online memorial to those military personnel who have been killed in this ongoing conflict.

I enter the game using as my login name "dead-in-iraq" and proceed to type the names using the game's text-messaging system. As is my usual practice when creating such an in-game intervention, I am a neutral visitor, as I do not participate in the proscribed mayhem. Rather, I stand in position, drop my weapon, and type until I am killed—whereupon I hover like a spirit over my dead avatar's body and continue to type. The text messages that follow represent the inputting of the names and reactions by the other players.

[US Army] -hk-burritoman#1 messaged: i think they are dates of deaths of soldiers

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: CEDRIC LAMONT LENNON 32 ARMY JUN 24 2003

[US Army] BgRobSmith messaged: are those real people??

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: JOHN ELI BROWN 21 ARMY APR 14 2003

[OpFor] bin-lad-e-nG.W.B messaged: I am srry

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: JOSEPH ACEVEDO 46 NAVY APR 13 2003

[OpFor] bin-lad-e-nG.W.B messaged: I am srry

KICK NOTIFICATION: dead-in-iraq has been kicked by an Administrator

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: JIMMY J ARROYAVE 30 MARINE APR 15 2004

[Admin] [BM]LoftyDog ADMIN MESSAGE: cause i dont need to sit through a list of over 1000 deaths

[Enemy] stepdown messaged: RIP, THIS IS A GAME

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: HESLEY BOX JR 24 ARMY MAY 6 2004

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: JEFFREY G GREEN 20 MARINE MAY 5 2004

[US Army] dead-in-iraq: ERICK J HODGES 21 MARINE NOV 10 2004

[US Army] -os-zelptic messaged: dead stfu you dumb **** {FUBAR}rtftd was shot by {-Boomer-}

[US Army] turkeybird messaged: who cares

[US Army] Pvt_Styx messaged: he drops his gun at the beginning of every round

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: GEORGE T ALEXANDER JR 34 ARMY OCT 22 2005

[US Army] Pvt_Styx messaged: jeeez shut up already we get it people died

[US Army} ={UMD}=HairyJohnson messaged: hmmm so whats your point?

XSTALKERX89 was shot by {UMD}=MORE_BEER.

CrazyCrav has added a vote to kick dead-in-iraq. [8/11]

[Enemy] sargentroysmith2 messaged: HE NAMES PEOPLE DEAD IN IRAQ

[US Army] Paddi15978 messaged: lol jojomom has successfully joined the server

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: DAVID G TAYLOR 37 ARMY OCT 22 2006

[US Army] cpm@ messaged: what's wrong with what he's doing

[US Army] dead-in-iraq messaged: NICHOLAS K ROGERS 27 ARMY OCT 22 2006

[US Army] Paddi15978 messaged: OMFG mnot this cunt again