vox populi - aesthetic-machinery.comaesthetic-machinery.com/documents/voxpopuli_ritter.pdf ·...

8
Vox Populi

Upload: others

Post on 18-Oct-2020

4 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 1

    Vox Populi

  • 2

    Vox Populiinteractive video and sound installation5 x 8m (15 x 25ft) single screen version; 13 x 15m (40 x 45ft) three screen version 2004-2009Don Ritterweb page and online video: http://aesthetic-machinery.com/voxpopuli.html

    A large video projection of a crowd yells “speech, speech” and encourages visitors to speak from a lectern equipped with a microphone. A teleprompter on the lectern provides the text of historical, political speeches, but the sources are not specified. When a visitor delivers a speech through the microphone, the text scrolls on the teleprompter, the crowd responds with varying degrees of hostility, support or ridicule, and the visitor’s speech is mixed with the screaming of the crowd through a sound system. Within Vox Populi, anyone can adopt the role of leader and speak the words of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, George W. Bush, and other world leaders. The amount of confidence within the visitor ’s voice controls various aspects of the installation, including the specific response of the crowd and the scrolling of the text on the teleprompter. If the leader speaks continuously for four minutes at a high volume and tempo, the crowd remains enthusiastically supportive. David Hume writes, “Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.”

    2019.10.7

  • 3

    The installation provides over 40 minutes of video and 3000 lines of historical speeches in English, French, or German text.

    Exhibitions of Vox Populi:

    Mediations Biennale Poznan, Poland. 2010Kunsträume Burg Eisenhardt, Belzig, Germany. 2009 ConcentArt, Berlin, Germany. 2009Galerija Kibela, Maribor, Slovenia. 2009Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 2006SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. 2005NAME Festival, Lille, France. 2005Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, USA. 2004

    But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is

    bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient

    funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So

    we have come to cash this check, a check that will give

    us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of

    justice.

    Martin Luther King, Jr, “I Have A Dream,” 1963

  • 4

    Surrounded By Art; Site Santa Fe Show Makes Work Personal for Viewers Dottie Indyke, Albuquerque Journal, 2005-09-23

    As a rule, art doesn’t rouse people to a fever pitch of emotion. In fact, writes Don Ritter, “a viewer who claps and cheers before a favorite painting within a museum may be considered to be insane and ushered to the front door by a solemn guard.”

    But Ritter makes work with the goal of inciting his viewers, moving beyond the silent, intellectual experience -- where no actual dialogue takes place -- to a more responsive, spontaneous process that engages both mind and body.

    Two of Ritter’s high-tech installations are part of a new exhibit, opening today at SITE Santa Fe. Sculptures by Charles Long and paintings by Dana Schutz are also featured.

    “Vox Populi,” a piece Ritter created last year, offers a chance to experience what it might be like to make a speech before a large crowd. On entering the darkened room, viewers are greeted by cat- calls encouraging them to step up to the podium, which is equipped with a microphone and a teleprompter with the text of speeches delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush. Anyone brave enough to take the stage faces three large video screens filled with images of people ready to respond to the rhetorician’s particular style. The crowd’s reaction might be wild enthusiasm or it might be outright hostility.

    “Vox” embodies Ritter’s expertise in psychology, electronics engineering and art. He developed the computer software in the late 1980s, while a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and initially used it in collaboration with musicians, where the computer produced images in response to live, improvised music. In his two SITE installations, instead of music controlling video, sensors respond to body motion and presence, and, in the case of “Vox Populi,” voice.

    “There are three characteristics I’m looking at,” Ritter said. “First is tempo. The computer calculates the duration of pauses between words. The second is volume level. The third is the duration that you’re speaking without interruption. There are many different combinations -- someone speaks at a very high volume but a very short duration. Or at low volume but a high tempo.

    “The crowd itself has four different types of reactions,” he added. “One is the encouraging reaction -- they say, ‘Speech, speech!’ And then they instantly go into mildly supportive (mode), clapping their hands and expressing a little interest. Based on that, the rules become more complicated,” Ritter said. “They can acknowledge you as the new messiah or go into discouraging mode. One woman in the crowd says, ‘I never heard such crap in my life.’” While most participants will likely perceive the visuals as staged -- Ritter combined video footage of professional and nonprofessional actors -- the sound track may prove a bit more intimidating.

    “In my experience, visuals are more capable of providing a logic of what is happening, but the audio aspect can make people feel uncomfortable or powerful,” he said.

    In New York City, the only place “Vox Populi” has previously been shown, the level of participation varied greatly. Men tended to step up to the podium more readily than women. Most doggedly stuck to the historical speeches, but a few adventurous individualists used the opportunity to practice their oratory skills. One man got so worked up he ripped his shirt off and he talked so long he had to be dragged from the lectern.

    “Even from my perspective, this piece is funny,” Ritter said. “But it’s actually very serious as well. It’s one thing to criticize leaders, but to be a leader is a very difficult task.”

    The vast majority of those who choose to make speeches simply read what is provided in a way that is as mindless and obedient as the crowd’s computer-controlled reactions.

    Ritter, who is a professor of art and design at Pratt Institute in New York City, has been intrigued with mechanical and electrical objects since he was a kid. At 10, he was repairing the family television, and in high school, he was a full-blown audio junkie. At the same time, he drew, painted and constructed objects. Apparently possessed of highly developed right and left brains, Ritter says math has always come easily -- but the world of art is his preferred milieu.

    “I’m much more interested in applying the tools of technology to art,” he said. “And the media is less relevant than what is being conveyed through that artwork. I don’t really see electronic art as presenting concepts that are new -- just perceptually different.”

  • 5

    configuration 1: one video projection

    one shot of crowd

    minimum room size: 5 x 8m, 15 x 24 ft

    configuration 2: three video projections

    one shot of crowd repeated 3 times

    minimum room size: 8 x 12m, 24 x 36 ft

    configuration 3: three video projections

    two different shots of crowd simultaneously,

    center screen different from side screens

    minimum room size: 8 x 12m, 24 x 36 ft

    Configurations for Exhibition of Vox Populi

    Speech text for all configurations available in

    English, French, or German

    other languages can also be incorporated.

  • 6

    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

    Don Ritter: concept, production, programmingChristina Hajdinjak: second video camera Jill Song: production assistant

    all documentary photos by Don Ritter produced with assistance from Pratt Institute, New York

  • 7

    Side View

    Top View

    video projector on wall or ceiling

    Room Requirements• minimum size: 5x8m(16x25ft); minimum ceiling height: 4m(15 ft)• entrances can be at one or more of the locations indicated• walls receiving the video projection painted white or covered with a video projection screen• walls should be covered in a soft material for better sound• wooden podium for lectern covered in carpet or flooring material, 1x 2.5m, 15 cm high, (3 x 8 ft long, 5 in. high)• video projector mounted on back wall or from ceiling• lighting: dark except for 2 small spot lights mounted on ceiling, and directed onto lectern• an equipment room of approximately 2x1.5 m(6x4ft) is required to hold computer, and audio equipment; cables run from the equipment room to the lectern, video projector, and audio speakers• consider the high volume of this installation when placing near other works

    Equipment Provided by Exhibitor• room preparation• 2 spotlights (50W)• wooden podium and covering (or shipped from Ritter)• 1 high quality video projector (features will be specified when required) • 2 audio speakers (12” woofe, 150W) on stands • audio amplifier (150W/channel min)• XLR mic cable to lectern; SVGA cabling to lectern• 1 computer monitor (1024x768) for equipment room• long power cabling to lectern• shipping of Ritter’s equipment case 1: 64x64x40 cm, 38kg (computer, interfaces) case 2: 60x60x32 cm, 30kg (monitor, mixer) case 3: 80x32x69 cm, 25 kg (lectern)

    Equipment Provided by Ritter• computer, video interfaces, audio reverb• audio mixer: 4 line input, 1 XLR mic input, stereo aux send, stereo output (can also be provided by exhibitor)• lectern (can also be provided by exhibitor)• computer monitor, microphone and stand for lectern, svga splitter

    cables to equipment room (cover on top)

    Vox Populi Room Requirementsfor Configuration 1one video projection of crowd

    video

    proje

    ction

    equip

    ment

    room

    equip

    ment

    room

    podium (1x 2.5m)

    podium (15cm high)

    video projector on wall or ceiling

    lectern

    cables inside lectern and under podium

    2 spotlights on ceiling

    spotlight on ceiling

    audio speakeron floor

    audio speakeron floor

    vide

    o pr

    ojec

    tion

    spotlight on ceiling

  • 8

    3 video projections of crowd

    spot lights

    lectern with microphone and computer screen

    podium

    video projector

    8-

    20m

    (24-

    60 ft

    )

    Room Requirements for Configuration 2 or 3• minimum room size: 8x12m (24x36 ft), minimum ceiling height: 5m(15 ft)• entrances can be at one or more of the locations indicated• walls receiving the video projection painted white or covered with video projection screens• wooden podium for lectern: 1.5m wide, 15 cm high (4 ft wide, 5 in. high); can be covered in carpet or flooring material• video projectors mounted on back wall or ceiling• lighting: dark except for 2 small spot lights above lectern mounted on ceiling• electricity: 10 outlets required, 120V/60Hz; maximum 400 W• an equipment area of approximately 2x3m(6x4ft) is required to hold computer and audio equipment; cables run from the equipment room to the lectern, video projector, and audio speakers• computers can be placed in podium if it is large enough• consider the high volume of this installation when placing near other works

    some details can be modified to accommodate specific exhibition spaces

    top view

    12-20m (36-60 ft)

    audio speaker

    video projector 2

    video projector 3

    video projector 1

    podium, lectern, screen, microphone

    side view of lectern area

    Vox Populi Room Requirements for Configurations 2 or 3

    three video projections of crowd audio speaker

    2 audio speakers on wall above projection

    cables under podium

    Equipment Provided by Exhibitor for Configuration 2 or 3 3 high quality video projectors (features will be specified when required) 1 100-300W per channel stereo amplifier 4 audio speakers mounted on tripods or wall audio, video and SVGA cabling to lectern

    Equipment Provided by Ritter or exhibiting location: 1 video distribution amplifier with 3 outputs 1 lectern mounted on podium 1 15“ SVGA flat screen monitor securely fastened to lectern (NEC LCD1565 or similar; monitor tilted at approximately 45 degrees) 1 Shure SM58 microphone and microphone stand (securely fastened to lectern) 2 Macintosh computers with audio input and monitors 1 SVGA splitter 1 audio reverb processor 1 audio mixer with aux send outputs (Mackie 1202, or similar) 1 video converter (features will be specified when required) various audio, video, and computer cables

    equip

    ment

    room