Beep -- Circa 1989

Beep -- Circa 1989

Sheila McGinnis

2008

Fabric curtain, metal curtain rod, wooden drawers, answering machine

Using a theatrical curtain and a simple set of drawers, my goal was to showcase (but not recreate) the life of the person whom the answering machine belonged to. Taking great care to choose items that wouldn't compete with the personality of the answering machine, you are left with only the flashing light to entice you, a light informing you that there are messages. Those curious enough, bold enough, or just plain nosy enough to press "play" are rewarded with approximately 20 minutes of completely unaltered messages that were, in the opinion of the previous owner, too... something to delete. Children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends, some are funny, some sad or strange, and some completely unintelligible, but through the voices you get a sense of their relationships, their troubles, and day to day lives and how they all connect to the anonymous person who kept them all these years.

**Note: I will be recording the tape on to iTunes to make it available to anyone interested in listening to it in its entirety. I'll also be making a transcript of the messages. Under no circumstances are they to be used for any reason, except for your own listening/reading pleasure, without my explicit permission.

Anyone interested in the recording or the transcript can e-mail me at sheilam@udel.edu. Please make the subject "Answering Machine" to avoid accidental deletion.