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Me/assage Me, 2011
Documentation of live performance and site-specific installation
Started in 2010, the FaCe Books project is an ongoing investigation of the ideas of “friendship” and “community” in the age of social networking.
“Me/assage Me,” the third piece in the series, is an interactive installation which primarily explores questions around generosity, accessibility, and inhibition. Viewers were invited to interact with the artist, who publicly made two statements: “I’m having a hard time,” and “You’re my only hope.” In addition to verbally stating her situation, two large handwritten signs and various written documents made the same claim. A placard was also handed out by the artist [as well as being available for anonymous procurement by the viewer] which suggested three immediate interactions that would help make the artist feel better: 1) touch, 2) voice, and 3) text. The artist attempted to actively engage anyone who came within 18 inches of the installation.
When confronted with choices about how to directly interact with another human being who is present, most people chose a mediated response, sometimes refusing even to make eye contact with the artist. Though the artist openly expressed that “touch” was what would make her feel the best, people were (predictably) much more comfortable interacting via technology.
Several people expressed a desire to participate with touch, but stated that an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment or shyness prevented them from doing so. As this was anticipated, a number of devices were made available for mediated interaction (a cell phone, an tablet computer, and a laptop) and placed within 3 feet of the artist. Proximity did not appear to be threatening when a device was used by the viewer, as many participants wrote on her publicly displayed Facebook wall during the performance. Some took a placard and called or texted from outside of the exhibition. The artist continued to receive voicemails and texts for several weeks after the live performance, several of which are documented below.
Over the next several weeks, I received a number of voice + text messages, as well as FB posts, a few of which I’ve recreated here.
Though there were many poignant moments, the most amazing experience involved the first text message above. I hadn’t received any messages for some time (I think on average I got about 1 per week after the initial rush during the exhibition opening) when I got the message that “Tomorrow will be amazing!” I was getting Chinese with Beau when the text arrived. For the past six days, I had been obsessively checking my email waiting to hear about a job I’d applied for and was VERY excited about.
“Wouldn’t it be great if I heard about the job tomorrow?” I wondered out loud. “I mean, I’d love to hear today, but wouldn’t that just be awesome?”
I am definitely a believer in magic. My marriage and much of my life and work is a testament to the power of the miraculous. And so it happened…I got word that I had been selected for the position on the day following receipt of the magical text message.
It’s interesting to note that the theory of proxemics states that intimate distance between human beings is somewhere between 6-18 inches. Social distance- the “comfort zone” for small interactions between acquaintances – however, is generally considered to be somewhere between 4-12 feet.
