karnofsky’s score is a body of work comprising a set of scores and a music release. the work is inspired by the karnofsky performance scale, a scoring system widely used in medical oncology to evaluate cancer patients ability to survive treatment. the scale, where 100 equals ‘normal’ and 0 equals ‘dead’, is a typical example of the application of industrial standars in the early history of cancer research. david a. karnofsky was in fact a pioneer oncologist who conducted experiments during world war II with the us army chemical warfare service. he spent the rest of his career working in the first dedicated cancer center in the world, the sloan-kettering memorial in new york, which had been financed and managed by general motors. david karnofsky died of cancer aged 55, becoming subject to the system he created.

“Cos’ take on Karnofsky is more systematic than personal. Pointing to the fact that his burial is next to those of Hollywood pioneers keenly touches upon the idea of efficiency in art too. No other art industry relies more on quantification than Hollywood, an environment where numbers grow so big that only a cost/benefit analysis can help to judge a work’s value. Next to the monoprints, Cos’s trailer is an appendix broadening her general political argument to a meta level: an insider’s comment on art and numbers; a further take on today’s industries of efficiency”. (Piero Bisello)