Brittany Papale
Public Sculpture Proposal
Title: “Listening In”
Artist Statement:
When approaching this project, my first thoughts were about bringing a private feeling to public art. The very nature of public art requires a certain democracy and tends to put the artist into a safe zone where they are sure not to offend anyone. I feel that this leads to a sort of decorative, dry work. So in an attempt to break through this barrier I began to capture some of the most private situations in my life. I started recording conversations, first with friends in a group setting, and then turned to even more private one-on-one phone conversations. When I played them back I noticed their intimacy and strangeness. When played out of context, they evoked a strong sense of curiosity. Pretending that I didn’t know these people, I listened and felt like I was spying on strangers. Surprisingly the feeling was exhilarating. I was immediately reminded of Marcel Duchamp’s “Ette Donnes.” After searching for a way to bring physicality to these conversations it was suggested to me to use the phone itself as a vehicle. To give the work access to the public I chose to use payphones. The telephone is often used to spy so it is a medium the public is used to. I plan to invite the public to listen in on private conversations that have been pre-recorded.
I feel that my sculpture would work best just on one side of Hamilton Hall. There will be two payphones facing back to back. A motion censor will be placed on the phones so that they will ring when people pass by. This will invite the passerby to pick up one of the phones. Upon picking up the receiver they will hear one side of a conversation. Their curiosity will peak and they will pick up the other receiver. All technology will be built into the recesses of the payphones and hidden. On the other telephone will be the other side of the conversation. I hope to give the viewer a fun but thoughtful interactive experience that starts a conversation about privacy, invasion of privacy, phone tapping, and our tendency to enjoy snooping.
Budget: $300
- 2 used payphones $200 (with shipping)
- Motion censor, paint and tools misc. $100
Attached:
- A Photoshop Document showing what the sculpture will look like
- A CD containing several possible recorded conversations
My Sculpture was chosen! Cant wait to bring this to fruition. This will be going up in April I believe. It will be in front of the University of the Arts building on Broad and Pine streets in Philadelphia.
