Atlas Drugged is a performance that explores our current political realities (just in time for the election) through the use of multiple forms. Through the use of artificial intelligence, a new political candidate has been created by The Builders Association and its director, Marianne Weems. One that is based on the works of Ayn Rand, a Russian-American philosopher whose writings have been used as inspiration to construct the theoretical framework for the alt-right—prioritizing free-markets and objectivism at all costs.
Lisa Duggan on Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand never actually understood capitalism.
Office Hours: Coming Soon
Get Into It
Get Thee to the LIbrary
Recommended readings to get you in gear for the show.
Nyari Dorina, Reviving Performance Art in the AI Era: Unleashing Creative Awareness (2023)
Lisa Duggan, Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed. University of California Press, 2019.
Mike Monteiro, Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It. Mule Press, 2019.
Cass R. Sunstein, This is Not Normal: The Politics of Everyday Expectations. Yale University Press, 2021.
Peter McLaren and Petar Jandrić, Postdigital Dialogues on Critical Pedagogy, Liberation Theology and Information Technology. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.
Read All About It
Louise Neri for Interview | November 23, 2008
The Builder's Association
“She has since left Victorian dramas behind, blending live performance, video, technology, and architecture to narrate stories based on the experiences, facts, and phenomena of reality today.”
History Lessons
Denise Cummins for PBS News | February 16, 2016
This is what happens when you take Ayn Rand seriously
” I find myself wondering why Rand’s popularity among the young continues to grow.”
Susanna Andrews for The Collector | August 30, 2023
Atlas Shrugged: Ayn Rand's Most Famous Novel Explained
“Her last and best-known book, Atlas Shrugged, was published in 1957; she considered it her magnum opus of fictional writing.”
Extra Credit
The New Yorker | March 16, 2023
Additional Uses for Your High-School Copy of “Atlas Shrugged”
“As a doorstop.”