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, though 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 others. Visitors are free to speak whatever they want through the microphone, but most read the speeches provided. The amount of confidence within the leader’s voice will control various aspects of the installation, including the specific response of the crowd and scrolling of the text on the teleprompter. If a leader speaks continuously for four 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, French, or German. Philosopher David Hume writes, “Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.”

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

Kunsträume Burg Eisenhardt, Belzig, Germany. 2009
ConcentArt, Berlin, Germany. 2009
Kibla, Maribor, Slovenia. 2009
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: production 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, NYC

photos from SITE Santa Fe and Art Gallery of Alberta