Vox Populi
interactive video
and sound installation, 13 x 15m
2005
A video
projected crowd of 28 people yells “speech, speech” and encourages
visitors to speak from a lectern equipped with a microphone and a teleprompter
that displays the text of historical political speeches. When a visitor
assumes the role of leader by delivering a speech through the microphone,
the text scrolls on the teleprompter, the crowd responds with varying
degrees of hostility, support or ridicule, and the leader’s speech
is mixed with the screaming of the crowd through a large sound system.
There are no indications within the installation that the speeches on
the teleprompter are from influential leaders, including John F. Kennedy,
Martin Luther King Jr, and George W. Bush.
Vox Populi provides anyone with an opportunity to control the masses through public speeches. Documentation of the installation shows audience members spontaneously adopting the role of leader and delivering their speeches with passion. Leaders are free to speak whatever they want through the microphone, but most read the speeches provided.
The response of the crowd, speech selection, and speed of the scrolling text are determined by an analysis of a leader’s voice. The specific actions of the crowd—encouraging, mildly supportive, unsupportive or enthusiastically supportive—are determined by various vocal characteristics. If a leader speaks continuously for 4 minutes at a high volume and tempo, the crowd remains enthusiastically supportive. The installation provides over 40 minutes of video and 3000 lines of historical speeches in English or French.
Articles and Reviews of Vox Populi
Indyke, Dottie (2006)
“Dana
Schutz, Charles Long, Don Ritter.” ARTnews. March.
USA.
Indyke, Dottie (2005) "Surrounded
By Art; SITE Santa Fe Show Makes Work Personal for Viewers,"
Albuquerque Journal,
September 23. USA.
Bouchard, Gilbert A. (2006) , “Do
you have what it takes to be a leader -- or a demagogue?” Edmonton
Journal, March 27. Canada.
Breddels, Lilet
(2004) “Vox
Populi,” Archis,
#6. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Allen, Mark (2004)
“Mark
Allen's Top Ten For October 11th, 2004.” www.markallencam.com,
New York, USA
Exhibitions
of Vox Populi
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 2006
SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. 2005
NAME Festival, Lille, France. 2005
Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY, USA. 2004
Don Ritter, concept
and production
Christina Hajdinjak, second video camera
Jill Song, video shoot assistant
foreground actors:
E.J. An, Jules Dudas, Carly Gladstone-Strobel, Bridget Harvey , Shawn
Kathryn Kane, Clark Main , Lucas Mendieta, Polly Mortensen, Elijah Or,
David Rynn, Eddy Sanchez, Cathy Simmonds, Mayra Solis
background actors: Haleh Abghari, Dardo Toledo Barros, Rick Barry,
Gregory Barsamian, Ruth Blankiet, Vasileios Bouzas, Jim Costanzo, Claudia
Herbst, John C. Liu, Peter S. Mackey, Dmitriy Rozin, Beth Warshafsky,
Mark Sugarman, Andra Ursuta, Mary Ziegler
Produced with assistance from Pratt Institute
photos from SITE Santa Fe and Art Gallery of Alberta