CART 345: Week 10

Jason Lewis' and Bruno Nadeau's "What They Speak When They Speak To Me" the english translation of "de Quoi ils parlent quand ils me parlent" is an interactive poem on misunderstandings dealing with people's identities, and challenges that may be present with language barriers. As the viewer approaches the screen, letters in an un-organized fashion can be seen. As the viewer touches the screen and starts moving, a white line forms, grasping letters and creating lines of text. A maximum of two points can be dragged along the screen. The lines of text are not easily readable as the viewer must constantly move in order to see the sentences. I thought this was particularly interesting as it forces individuals into movement. It is very un-organized which adds to the theme of the piece, which in this case is misunderstandings and language. Language can be confusing at times, misunderstood, changed, it can be misapprehended, or can vary. I felt that the poem was well suited and well used as it speaks about language while portraying it in a very smart way; interactively.

I see this piece being very interesting at a larger scale, where people can walk on a huge screen. As people walk lines of text follows behind them forming words, phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs. The person must walk from one side of the screen to the other, requiring patience (like learning a language). After the person has walked through the screen they can read the message that it says. This could be interesting as it pushes people to talk their time and work to get the end message.