"It is the rape of a virgin Territory, compelling it to the hateful embrace of slavery; and it may be clearly traced to a depraved desire for a new Slave State, hideous offspring of such a crime, in the hope of adding to the power of slavery in the National Government." - excerpt from Crime Against Kansas

The Charles Sumner statue located at the very heart of Harvard Square was made by his friend Anne Whitney to honor his legacy in abolishing slavery. Senator Sumner, a contemporary of Lincoln, was a vocal abolitionist and did not hesitate to criticize those who did not share his views. In fact, his speeches were so provocative that after the delivery of his famous "Crime Against Kensas" speech, he was physically beaten so brutally that he remained unconscious for days.

In this installation we invoke his words from "Crime Against Kensas" through projection at the site of the statue. A carefully edited portion of his actual speech is projected on a translucent material and placed between the statue and the participant. Participants are invited to read the words projected on the screen into the microphone. The projected words gradually disappear as they are spoken by the participant until finally there it becomes empty, revealing the statue behind.

Projection test shots. Left: starting projection. Middle: in process of speech recognition. Right: Words slowly disappearing as the words are matched.

Through such interaction, participants experience not only the power but also the violence of his speech through their own voices. Through the public's interaction and reciation of his words, Sumner is given relevance. And finally when the words are gone, the statue remains with new understanding.

Photo taken from Harvard GSD Kirkland Gallery.

See code for speech recognition.

Abstract
Pastiché is an augmented dining experience where the diners(users) have to deal with a spooky guest called Smart Phone. The full course meal is frequently interrupted by text messages, alarm, phone calls and notifications or “glitches.” The aim of this project is to reorient our awareness of everyday use of smart phones, and to generate a discourse on its disruptive and/or facilitative properties.