I Go Humble...

Stefani Byrd + Wes Eastin, I Go Humble... , Live Interactive Storefront Installation, 2011

Installed at the intersection of Edgewood Ave SE and Park Pl NE, Directly Across from Woodruff Park, Atlanta, Georgia, March 21, 2011, 9 am - 6 pm

This interactive video installation uses humor to address the serious subject of street harassment.  Live on-screen heads—two women and two gay men— observe the passing crowd and catcall the men, thus reversing the typically heterosexual male behavior.  The work focuses on "empathy training," where audiences are put on the receiving end of playfully staged inappropriate behavior such as teasing and cat calling.  The seriousness of the subject matter is masked by the humor that the situation is intended to create.

This piece was installed in an intersection across from a popular park in downtown Atlanta where wide ranges of people cross paths, from students to business professionals.  There is a culture that developed where women were routinely verbally harassed as they crossed through the park.  This posed an interesting situation for the artists who were inspired to respond to this public space in a way that uses humor to confront this behavior.

(Cast: Stan Fong, Jillian Fratkin, Troy Halverson, and Alyson West)

Sponsored by Flux Projects and the Digital Arts and Entertainment Laboratory