Private and Public: Proposal

From Skyscraper to Metro

It is striking how quiet urban areas chock-full of people can be. From the skyscraper elevator to the bustling sidewalk and the metro [subway] platform, many individuals share space without verbalizing a single notion to their entourage. Instead of conversing with those by your side, it is likely that you text or call one of your contacts. This behaviour often goes by unnoticed, as some surveys report that half the bodies you cross on the street are equipped with a portable phone. Bordering ubiquity, this device closes communication lines between individuals sharing a location at any given time. The most vocal element of the current urban landscape is advertisement. They often attract our attention to the bright projections by presenting voyeuristic images coupled with products. Where finding your identity was achieved singularly through community-centric environments it has become easy to form a persona by imitating the scenes projected before our eyes, while we wait in silence.

The Taunt

The artwork has two components, both of which rely on human nature and preexisting telecommunication systems. Only visitors that are in possession of a mobile phone are able to actively choose how the scenario will unfold. Others are invited to influence the decision making process. Participants must complete the steps outlined in the diagram below. The interface will incorporate buttons to select various locations [metro stations]. Inside resides an Arduino Microcontroller able to communicate to an Asterisk phone server. The phone number they will be asked to call is a 514 Montréal number which automatically transfers the call to the correct payphone. The film projector is a Bell & Howell 8mm whose power is controlled through the Arduino. Hidden in an industrial casing, the Arduino compliments the design of the projector. This style is chosen to attain an atmosphere where the user believes all the components are exposed. This appearance of fetishized simplicity is possibly the same charm, which makes devices like record players popular today. In addition, it makes it impossible to add sound directly to the film.

The Bait

The feature presentation, and bait for this work will be filmed using an 8mm camera. It is important for me to incorporate this element because of the implications of the camera and projector duo. These consumer gizmos are a staple of the American dream after the great depression. Through these portable lenses, families captured and shared their most private rites at any location. This format is also a tired choice for video and performance artists like Carolee Schneemann. Discussions regarding this medium are therefore mature and allow me to utilize it with little unknown implication.

The Result

The scenario I will present to visitors of this piece will set in motion a social intervention within the exhibit space, as well as in the city where it is located. The Interaction of the users is detailed in physical and emotional form in the diagrams below. It is possible to analyze the situation as an experiment where the potential caller must decide if his or her fear of speaking to a stranger over the phone is greater than his or her desire to observe the film. The action of placing the call is twofold. Firstly, the caller is able to dissociate from the community of their contact list. Secondly, the payphone ringing, in a space surrounded by people, presents itself as an absurdity (in the case where no one answers), or an escape route for someone prisoner of the silence. Stares of disbelief are sure to ensue from the latter as society is conditioned for two things: 1) phone calls are private, and 2) strangers are dangerous. Following this timed conversation, viewers in the screening room are treated to an equal amount of footage from the Bell & Howell projector. Standing together, in silence, only the projector’s rattling motor can remind them that the cycle is complete. It is now their turn to be exposed and lured by the images.