ABSTRACT
Billboards are ubiquitous in New York City. The newest form of the billboard, one that reflects the screen culture of the twenty-first century, is the digital billboard: a constantly evolving series of images, graphics, and animations that pulse rhythmically with consumer possibility. On a summer afternoon in Times Square 2006, an interesting rupture disturbed the flow of typical images selling perfumes, deodorants, shoes, and other luxury goods. Sandwiched in between images of impossibly beautiful models and shimmering lip gloss, pedestrians were confronted with a video of a man talking about organizing migrant farm workers. Small groups of people gathered to watch and listen as a man standing in front of a set of microphones solemnly described the importance of personal responsibility and providing youth with an alternative to violence. Was this a speech happening in real time? Who was this person speaking such powerful, almost familiar words? In fact, this video was part of a series of reenactments of protest speeches from the 1960s and 1970s called The Port Huron Project conceived by the artist Mark Tribe. Since 2006 Tribe has staged a series of six reenactments presented in the same locations where the original speeches were given. Tribe selects individuals to deliver the speeches to an audience of invited guests and passersby as a form of civic engagement. Each of these reenactments is documented using video and photography, then rebroadcast online, on select public screens such as the one in Times Square, and in exhibition spaces.
