Telephone Booth Project

Bees & Other Travelers

2010-09-12T23:16:00.005-04:00

Bees & Other Travelers, an installation by Chris Hill in collaboration with Julia Dzwonkoski, uses postcards to explore communication as public health, beekeeping, and other shared interests and ephemera.

To read postcards, click here.

The Web of Life (7.28-8.22, 2010)

2010-08-30T10:20:00.007-04:00

"The Web of Life" (sound, 42:10, 2010) is an audio work produced by Ryan Agnew for Migiwa Orimo's Telephone Booth Project in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Drawn from recorded telephone conversations with Ora Lee Carr Bailey (born 1925) and Bonnie Lee Bailey Agnew (born 1954) with Concertina accordion and toy piano courtesy of Columbus-based musician and sound artist Brian Harnetty. Hand images by Bonnie Agnew, printing by Bill Reinhart. [Listen]

Spoon River Saga Volume 6 (The final volume)

2010-08-23T16:54:00.004-04:00

The final volume of Spoon River Saga is currently on view through September 6, 2010.

List of Readers: Volume 6 - Significant Others

Ollie Mcgee…….………Rani Deighe Crowe

Fletcher McGee………………Dave Nickle

Constance Hately……….….Joyce Rowland

Henry Layton………………….Jovan King

Herbert Marshall……………..Roger Watson

Louise Smith…………………Louise Smith

Mrs. Charles Bliss-…………Maribeth Crowe

Reverend Lemuel Wiley……….Mark Reuter

Charlie French…..……Samuel Holman-Smith

Jonas Keene….…………..Franklin Johnson

Albert Schirding…………….Geoff Burkman

Washington McNeely…..………Daniel Britt

Mary McNeely………………..Beth Richards

Hare Drummer………………..Jimmy Rogers

Pauline Barrett…………….Karen Gundersen

Amanda Barker……………….Beth Richards

Sarah Brown……………..Miriam Eckenrode

Rebecca Wasson……………….Barb Hocker

Mrs. Benjamin Pantier………….Debra Kent

Benjamin Pantier…………Mark Diffenderfer

William and Emily….. Louise Smith & John Fleming

Jonathan Houghton…..Jeffrey Lucas

The Web of Life

2010-07-29T17:23:00.009-04:00

The current installation of the Telephone Booth Project features Columbus-based artist Ryan Agnew's "The Web of Life" (sound, 42:10, 2010), an audio work about a mother and daughter.

"The Web of Life" (sound, 42:10, 2010) was drawn from recorded telephone conversations with Ora Lee Carr Bailey (born 1925) and Bonnie Lee Bailey Agnew (born 1954). Concertina accordion and toy piano courtesy of Brian Harnetty. Hand images by Bonnie Agnew, printing by Bill Reinhart.

Coming Up Next

2010-07-05T12:35:00.003-04:00

Starting at 5:00 p.m. on July 16th, the Telephone Booth Project will host Theatre Bizarre by Dante Wildern.

Spoon River Saga Volume 5

2010-06-30T12:19:00.007-04:00

Spoon River Project by Rani Deighe Crowe
June 29 - July 14, 2010

Spoon River Volume 5:
Power and Mercy
1. Anthony Findlay…….…Michael Robinson
2. Robert Southey Burke-…………Tom Rogers
3. John Cabanis…..…………..David Gaylor
4. Hannah Armstrong…………Janette Wilges
5. Elsa Wertman………………Judy Kintner
6. Carl Hamblin…………………..Ron Siemer
7. Godwin James…………………Ron Weber
8. Harry WIlmans………………..Jon Prater
9. Mrs. Kessler………………..Phyllis Turner
10. Nellie Clark…………… Rachel Casparian
11. Shack Dye…………………….Jovan King
12. Robert Davidson…………….David Gaylor
13. Ezra Bartlett………….....J. Gary Thompson
14. Enoch Dunlap………………..Tony Dallas
15. Captain Orlando Killion……Douglas Hinkley
16. Thomas Ross Jr………………..Kim Korkan
17. Mrs. Meritt……………………Louise Smith
18. Tom Meritt……………………..Jacob Bench
19. Elmer Karr……………………….Leo Geiger

Spoon River Saga Volume 4

2010-06-14T12:15:00.001-04:00

Spoon River Volume 4:
Artists, Intellectuals and Other Misfits
1. William Goode…………………Pierre Nagely
2. Voltaire Johnson……………….Nicolas Ruley
3. The Widow McFarlane ……Rani Deighe Crowe
4. W. Lloyd Garrison Standard-……John Fleming
5. Alfred Moir……………………..Ron Weber
6. Rosie Roberts……………….Rachel Casparian
7. George Gray…………………..Carlyle Brown
8. Benjamin Fraser-……………….Greg Nichols
9. Serepta Mason-………………..Bobbi Davis
10. Alfonso Churchill-……………Douglas Hinkley
11. Flossie Cabanis…….Jennifer Bateman Gilchrist
12. Dora Williams…………………Rachel Wilson
13. Mrs. Williams-…………….Karen Gundersen
14. Zilpha Marsh……………..Rani Deighe Crowe
15. Seth Compton-………………Eugene Dickens
16. Jefferson Howard-………….Mark Diffenderfer
17. Georgine Sand Miner……….Miriam Eckenrode
18. Editor Whedon…………………..Tony Dallas
19. Searcy Foote…………………… Greg Nichols

"Awkward Hugs: An Investigative Report"

2010-05-27T13:01:00.010-04:00

"Awkward Hugs: An Investigative Report" - a video installation, is currently
on view at the booth. "Awkward Hugs" is a public service video by Vanessa Query and Lee Johnson that explores different types of awkward hugs, their origins and how to avoid them.

Found in the Booth

2010-05-20T16:42:00.006-04:00

Well, it's about time.

He's found us!

Spoon River Saga Volume 3

2010-05-20T14:16:00.007-04:00

Spoon River Saga Volume 3 : May 10 - 26, 2010.
Spoon River Project is produced by Rani Deighe Crowe.

List of Readers

When the Bank Failed…

1. Thomas Rhodes………………John Bukowski

2. Ralph Rhodes………………..Luke Dennis

3. Nancy Knapp………………..Miriam Eckenrode

4. Barry Holden………………..Dave Nickel

5. Mrs. George Reece……………Leslie Alexandria

6. Eugene Carmen………………Jovan King

7. Henry Tripp…………………Dan Davis

8. Margaret Fuller Slack………...Sheryl Buechly

9. Jack McGuire………………..Howard Shook

10. Harold Arnett……………….Steve McQueen

11. Dr. Iseman………………….Ron Siemer

12. Lambert Hutchins……………Larry Coressel

13. Lillian Stewart………………Sherri Sutter

14. Granville Calhoun……………Michael Robinson

15. Henry Calhoun………………Tony Dallas

16. Ace Shaw……………………Kim Korkan

17. Amelia Garrick……………….Annie Branning

18. Tennessee Claiflin Shope.…….Franklin Johnson

19. Felix Schmidt……………….Shane McCoy

20. Nicholas Bindle……………..John Bukowski

21. Clarence Fawcett……………Howard Shook

22. Henry Phipps……………….Larry Coressel

OPENING

2010-05-05T15:11:00.003-04:00

The opening of Tim Noble: CIA World Fact Book: phonebooth edition

(a work in progress) was held on Friday, April 2, 7:00 PM, 2010

2:00AM INSTALLATION

2010-04-02T14:40:00.002-04:00

PREPARATION for CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

2010-03-20T11:48:00.003-04:00

CIA WORLD FACTBOOK: phonebooth edition by Tim Noble

The work will be installed in stages starting Saturday, March 20, 2010.

Once completed, the public is invited to interact with this device!

FInal Tribute

2010-02-11T21:48:00.005-05:00

Well the run has been good, the crowds amazing, and the work has been so satisfying. I want to thank all of the people who have made this possible, and especially Migiwa Orimo, for providing the space and the vision that allows the artist to fully realize their dream. Thank you everyone and thank you, thank you to the booth, a vessel and a home for the work of many. The life of the Theatre is certainly fraught with many thrills and chills, to quote that iconoclastic thespian, Lou Reed. I hope my gifts have been received in as I have intended them to be and god bless you all and god bless america.

Spoon River Saga Volume ll

2010-02-09T21:13:00.010-05:00

Spoon River Saga Volume ll will be installed February 15 - March 6, 2010.
Spoon River Project is produced by Rani Deighe Crowe.

List of Readers (vol. ll)
Judson Stoddard .........Matthew Curry
Lyman King ................John Gary Thompson
Amos Sibley................Dave Nickel
Mrs. Sibley..................Annie Branning
Caroline Branson ........Amy Brooks
The Village Atheist.......Saul Caplan
John Ballard ...............Franklin Johnson
Julian Scott.................Vanessa Query
James Garber..............Leo Geiger
Roger Heston..............Mark Diffenderfer
Dorcas Gustine............Susan Robert
Wendell Bloyd.............Michael Bare
Le Roy Goldman..........James Nelson
Willard Fluke...............Geoff Burkman
Marie Bateson.............Kim Korkan
Johnny Sayre..............Dylan Lujano
Jula Miller...................Jill Summerville
Jacob Godbey..............Dan Davis
Eugenia Todd..............Jacob Nelson
Deacon Taylor .............Daniel Britt
J. Milton Miles.............Greg Nichols

Mr. VEX, the stagehand

2010-02-08T22:25:00.003-05:00

Casselli's "THEATRE" will be closing this week. It's time to introduce Mr. Vex, the stagehand, the curtain riser!

On With the Show!

2010-02-02T18:50:00.009-05:00

Hi folks,

Since both Michael and Migiwa are out of town this week, I'll be filling in as box office, usher and projectionist through Friday. Also, it looks like I'll be following Casselli and Rani Crowe in early March with an electronic installation, so I'll be posting updates throughout the rest of February as the next 2000+ solder points connect nixie tubes and arduinos... but i should hush now, because the lights just went down and it looks like the conductor's about to start up the orchestra...

Show times this week:

02/02 Tuesday 6:30pm

02/03 Wednesday 7pm

02/04 Thursday 7pm

And in response to overwhelming popular demand, three (3!) back to back shows this

Friday February 5th! 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm!

The public is also invited to each morning's unannounced reversal/rehearsal of "Theater". Catch as catch can.

The Show Must Go On!!!!!!!!

2010-01-28T12:16:00.009-05:00

There was an unfortunate act of vandalism to the booth, causing the theatre to remain dark for more than a week. The problem has been fixed and I am once again presenting shows. Here are the showtimes for the rest of the week:
Wednesday 7:30 pm
Thursday 7:30 pm
Friday 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 pm
Sunday 7:00 pm
I will be away in Scotland from the 1st through the 4th so stay tuned for guest presenters Migiwa Orimo and Tim Noble to publish their schedules for the time I am away.

Time Lapse of the Booth Curtain up

2010-01-12T22:02:00.004-05:00

Well the cold broke and allowed me to do some tweaks to the rigging. Here is a time lapse video of the curtain raising, total time of the curtain going up is 2 minutes 30 seconds. Will be posting showtimes if people want to see the start of Theatre. No late seating and please turn your cell phones off.

pictures up

2010-01-12T01:34:00.004-05:00

The cold has definitely put some hard times on this thing. Images up and trying to regain the warmth of the inside. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

SHOW TIME!!

2009-12-06T15:42:00.004-05:00

Spoon River Extended

2009-11-14T15:13:00.003-05:00

Now the Telephone Booth CD player is back in business.

Originally the Spoon River Project was going to close today, but since many people couldn't use the player for 10 days, I'll extend the run of Spoon River to Nov. 29th.

BACK in BUSINESS

2009-11-13T00:08:00.001-05:00

VANDALISM

2009-11-08T19:43:00.010-05:00

The CD player is gone! I'll replace it ASAP.

The Spoon River Project (volume 1) will be extended

through Nov. 21, 2009.

Installation View of Spoon River

2009-10-29T15:24:00.004-04:00

AP story

2009-10-27T15:39:00.002-04:00

Artist hopes to make connection with phone booth

By JAMES HANNAH Associated Press Writer

Published on Thursday Oct 22, 2009

It has nearly vanished from the American landscape. Some teenagers have never even seen one before.

But the once ever-present telephone booth has popped up on a street corner in this southwest Ohio village as part of an unusual art project and a statement about private communications in the let-everybody-know-what-I'm-doing age of Twitter and MySpace.

The project is the brainchild of Tokyo-born artist Migiwa Orimo, who had to search high and low for a phone booth before finding one in the Windy City.

"It was really in bad condition," Orimo said. "The whole thing was black, pitted from Chicago weather on the street."

Orimo polished up the metal structure, replaced its broken panes of glass and installed a mustard-colored telephone with a black rotary dial.

But it's not a working phone booth. It's a living interactive sculpture that will serve as a stage for poetry readings, light shows and dance performances over the next year.

Beginning Saturday, people will be able to walk into the phone booth, pick up the receiver and listen to a recorded rendition of the Spoon River Anthology, a collection of short poems published in 1915 that describe the life of a fictional small town. Seventy actors and others with ties to Yellow Springs were recruited to read the poetry.

"I like the intimate performance space," said Rani Deighe Crowe, who came up with the poetry project. "You listen to this over the phone, which gives it that extra personal confessional quality."

Crowe said she rejects the notion of trying to reach the largest possible audience, opting instead for a performance that can only be delivered to one person at a time.

"I've been really interested in trying to reach the smallest possible audience," she said.

Orimo said she is trying to break the traditional boundary between the artist and audience, where people taking in the performance at the phone booth also become part of the art.

Orimo said the project is her reaction to Twitter, MySpace, surveillance cameras and other technologies designed to enable people to view and be viewed by others.

"Knowingly or unknowingly we do that every second of our lives nowadays," she said. "But it's all in a different kind of sphere _ a virtual sphere. I wanted to sort of bring that question once again to the physical level by letting people see this piece on the street corner, which is not going to move anywhere."

Kathy Thorne stopped to take a look at the phone booth earlier this week. She acknowledged that she is a bit overwhelmed by high-tech communication and yearns for the past.

"I wish I'd get letters from people from the mail instead of stupid e-mail," said Thorne, of Sarasota, Fla.

U.S. pay phones _ including telephone booths _ numbered 2.6 million at their height in 1998, according to AT&T. The decline in pay phone usage was in part due to the growth of other communications channels such as cell phones.

While the Yellow Springs phone booth had a nostalgic effect on people old enough to remember them, it was a mystery to young people who passed by. One teen didn't know how to open the folding door. Others commented that they remember rotary dials only from visiting their grandparents.

But Orimo has made a concession to the Twitter generation.

Inside the booth above the telephone is a digital clock/calendar. Orimo hopes that those who experience the phone booth art will record their thoughts on a log inside the booth. She plans to document what effect the phone booth has on the community over the next year.

"It redefines the notion of what an art space can be, while appropriating an everyday public facility as a place for intimate contemplation and even inspiration," said Anne Pasternak, director of Creative Time Inc., a New York City-based organization that commissions and presents public arts projects.

Other artists have used phone booths to make statements.

Last year, Dylan Mortimer installed phone booths in New York City, Jackson, Tenn., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that were designed to resemble confessionals. Outfitted with flip-down kneelers, the booths were aimed at sparking dialogue about prayer.

The Yellow Springs phone booth sits on a downtown corner next to an ice cream shop and an array of wooden cafe tables. And even though it's only been on the street for a few weeks, the phone booth has already made a splash.

Someone put a helium balloon inside the booth. And a cardboard robot appeared there last week and then vanished as quickly as it came.

"People are already finding a relationship with it," Orimo said.

___

Spoon River is Coming...

2009-10-21T17:46:00.011-04:00

The Spoon River Project is a serialized audio adaptation of the 1915 literary classic featuring over 70 actors with ties to the Dayton and Yellow Springs area. The saga will be featured in 6 volumes. The first volume will be installed Saturday, October 24 and will be up for 3 weeks. The other 5 volumes will follow throughout the year.

A Visitor to the Booth

2009-10-18T12:38:00.003-04:00

Night VIew

2009-10-12T22:41:00.001-04:00

Interior of the Booth

2009-10-12T15:04:00.003-04:00

Friday night

2009-10-11T15:46:00.002-04:00

Public Art: What Is Public? What Is Private?

2009-10-09T15:45:00.004-04:00

In the age of Twitter, social networks, YouTube,

surveillance and text messaging,

we are constantly transmitting, receiving and exchanging

our status at great distance with speed.

We are readily conditioned to view, and be viewed by,

thousands of anonymous others.

We have several hundred “faces” of

so-called friends on our desktop.

•••

This telephone booth

you are standing in

measures 32”x32”x80”.

It is designed for a single human body.

It is place-bound on a street corner.

It is not connected to

the Internet nor a phone-line.

What you experience here

is one-on-one.

•

Migiwa Orimo

Power is Hooked Up (2 days to opening)

2009-10-07T15:57:00.005-04:00

Moving Day!

2009-10-02T11:02:00.004-04:00

Poster/Two Deers Telephoning

2009-09-02T21:18:00.007-04:00

This poster was inspired by Japanese advertising illustration from 1920's. It's hand painted. I'll make multiple prints for take-away cards.

Preparation

2009-08-01T01:58:00.006-04:00

Spoon River Project

2009-07-09T14:22:00.006-04:00

Spoon River Project by Rani Crowe (Opens 10/24!)

As an artist/performer, I have been recently exploring several themes.

First, I have been thinking about infrastructure. How does one produce art and theater without the resources, funding, gallery space, studio space, performance space, audience base, and context? How does one authenticate and contextualize one’s art without these widely accepted backing principles? We widely praise artists who manage to breakthrough to new frameworks for their art, but we only accept them after they have persisted diligently in creating that framework until it redefines the space for us. As an artist, how do you create new ways of viewing and experiencing art without having that infrastructure that defines what you are doing as art?

Secondly, as new media forms have made self-marketing and documentation more possible, more art seems to be about marketing and documentation. More art seems to be more historical documentation than the actual moment of the experience of the art. As artists attempt to reach larger audiences, the connection of the individual to the piece as an intimate moment is disappearing. With new media, new ways of communicating are becoming the norm and older methods of communicating are becoming lost art forms. My own instinctual response to new media is to create pieces not for the masses but for the individual, and for the small audience. I have been exploring more personalized low tech means of communication such as gift giving, the postal service, the telephone, T-shirts, and even the canvas of my car as delivery systems for art and connection.

Thirdly, my background is primarily in theater. I have been writing, acting, directing, and designing shows for the stage. I have had a strong interest in performance and conceptual art for some time, and the more I do theater, the more I realize that my attitude and approach toward theater is as an artist wanting to create something new and meaningful, whereas many theater practitioners approach theater more as performers and entertainers. I have been looking for projects to integrate theater and art in new ways for myself.

As soon as Migiwa said she had a telephone booth, my mind started churning out ideas. It was the perfect device for exploring the questions I had been working with. I wanted to use the function of the booth as a performance venue. A theater for one. There is already a sense memory experience attached to listening to something on the phone. It connects us to loved ones far away, to services when we are in need, and to bad news. For those of us who still remember phones plugged into walls with cords, we remember the extra preciousness of our phone time when we had to stand next to the wall at full attention and count every minute that we would pay for. Especially in a booth where you had to insert coins as you talked.

I originally planned to write a series of monologues of individuals that you could call through the phone and hear their stories. I also thought about interviews of people within the town. As I contemplated what to write, I started thinking of the Spoon River Anthology. I ordered it from the library, thinking I would use it for inspiration and possibly a template. As I began reading, I realized that the monologues, written in 1910, still resonated. They described so many of the characters and their relationships of small town life. They were specific without being specific. I didn’t think I could top them or create anything more meaningful than this book. Sometimes simplifying a piece is the strongest decision you can make. The Spoon River Anthology is a classic, often used by acting teachers as monologues for beginning actors, but how often do you see it produced? And how many plays have you seen produced in a telephone booth? It provides the opportunity to involve many actors from across the Dayton area, and yet the performance space is designed for one person at a time. This provides the opportunity to use new recording technology in an intimate and low tech delivery system. These are the reasons I am drawn to this project.

It's here!

2009-06-07T01:09:00.006-04:00

I picked up a Telephone Booth in Chicago on Wednesday. Now it's sitting outside my studio door. Condition of the booth is not good. There are some badly damaged panels. It shows signs of serving many years on Chicago street.

The telephone signs (sand blasted red glass panels) are all in great condition!