A woman's head covered in metal and wires.
A woman with a metal headpiece on her face.
A sculpture with a lot of wires attached to it.
A woman with a metal mask on her face.
A man with a metal head covered in wires.

Pavlovian Trainer

1990
steel, brass, plastic
36” x 12” x 18”

The Pavlovian Trainer is a sculptural device designed to cure over verbosity. Its self-contained 500 psi air supply, coupled to a pneumatic sensor switch under the chin, can be adjusted to a persons’ jaw, sending bursts of air to the large pneumatic cylinders which effectively muzzle the wearer if they open their mouth. While this feature alone is an effective deterrent to excessive jaw movement, the PT has a built-in head locking device which, when placed on the head, will immediately lock down on the head with pneumatic levers which squeeze between the eyes and behind the neck. The wearer will soon “learn” that the ringing bells always accompany the movement of the mouth muzzle. After learning is complete, the PT is removed and only a small bell is necessary to inhibit the person from talking.