Collective Verse is an audio/visual, interactive installation informed by the tradition of Japanese Renga—a practice in which multiple poets create a single poem. Collective Verse invites diverse participants and supporters, with an emphasis on the Meso-American community, to share their words and language within this political moment.
Collective Verse aspires to create a spiritually framed experience where participants can privately share their thoughts. What is revealed is the collective nature of our voice.
It offers an outlet for those who are at a loss for words.
Participants create the poem together.
Collective Verse aspires to create a spiritually framed experience where participants can privately share their thoughts. What is revealed is the collective nature of our voice
The Technology
Local and global participants submitted written prompts and responses on a mobile app connected to a website. Each response became a part of the collective poem projected on a wall. Each time a poem is displayed, another technology, Max/MSP, plays musical cues and atmospheric sounds gathered from field recordings of Westlake/MacArthur Park and Downtown Los Angeles.
