The Public Utteraton Machines
The Public Utteraton Machine is an interactive public art work that asks passersby questions about other public art and records them. The Public Utteraton Machine takes the appearance of a public telephone from the 19th century and is installed on urban streets or in New York in triangle Parks in neighborhoods. Its aim is to intervene into the practice and discourse of public art in New York or other cities in areas where public art is not normally found. The public Utteraton Machine asks passersby whether they have seen other public art, what they think of it, who should pay for it etc. with the aim to engage with the community, record unheard voices, promote agency in the form of audio recordings and quantitative data collection. They are solar powered. Audio recordings are archived online at utteraton.com or check here for audios. It was initially part of my PhD at Chelsea College Art London, University fo the Arts London, in 2019. The name is derived form the notion of “the utterance”. Available for new commissions and new cities.
AUDIO recordings:
https://utteraton.com/display-responses.html
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
https://utteraton.com/quantitative-data.html
MORE DETAILS BELOW
The Public Utteraton Machine was installed at the following locations for 2 weeks each:
Long Island City, NY
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
TECHINCAL
The Public Utteraton Machine is solar powered and has 2 points of engagement for passersby.
- 19th C. telephone interface, which asks viewers questions, to which one can answer in narrative form. Answers are recorded anonymously.
- 21C e-paper display screen, that asks yes/no questions.
For a list of questions, please visit the "audio recordings" pages above. For responses please visit the "display responses" page.
CONCEPTUAL
Currently, little research exists that examines the reasoning behind the locations of public art in New York, as well as what residents might think of it, or wish for it after it has been installed. Whereas 'gallery' art normally has a publicly constituted apparatus of commentary and scholarly interrogation, that surrounds it, public art which exists outside the traditional gallery space paradoxically does not have such an apparatus of dissemination and discourse. There is less public art in the outer boroughs of New York that in the neighborhoods and outer boroughs. The Public Utteraton Machines will, in the form of objects in space provide a counter narrative to this established system of locations. As urban interventions, they will uncover whether people really want, care for or are indifferent towards public art.
If more funding is secured for installation costs, the Public Utteraton Machines are available for other cities and other NY boroughs, such as Harlem or the Bronx.
Artist: Dr. Rebecca Hackemann
Fabrication: J.Stemmler, Northpenn Machine Works
Programming: Bruce Bahlmann
Permits: NYC Parks and Recreation
Research support: KSU, University of the Arts London
