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| Vox
Populi interactive video and sound installation, 8 x 15m 2005 |
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| 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. | ||
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| 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.” The installation can provide historical speeches in English, French, or German. |
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photo SITE Santa Fe |
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"Don Ritter's interactive installations are concerned with human behaviour. How do people work together? How do they behave behind a microphone? How do they over become their fears? Ritter acts like a researcher demonstrating his ideas through experiments. But the viewer cannot step back and watch others behave, s/he is directly involved in the situation being created. The meaning of the work is conveyed through the viewer’s immediate personal experience." Lilet Breddels, Archis |
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Articles and Reviews of Vox Populi Indyke, Dottie (2006)
“Dana
Schutz, Charles Long, Don Ritter.” ARTnews. March.
USA. Allen, Mark (2004) “Mark
Allen's Top Ten For October 11th, 2004.” www.markallencam.com, |
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photo Art Gallery of Alberta |
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Exhibitions
of Vox Populi Don Ritter: concept
and production 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 |
