South Street Talk
Project Overview:
South Street Talk is a Locative Narrative project that takes both natives and visitors of South Street on a walk to four coffee shops. The walk begins at the Lombard- South subway stop and continues to 4th Street. Each coffee shop has been selected because it exclusively offers local or free trade products and also serves as a showcase for local artwork.
In South Street Talks, participants will chose a coffee shop to conduct routine business, whether that is reading, working, or friendly conversation. At the end of their stay, participants will utilize a booth, or table, equipped with a computer. The computer will record whatever story the participant feels like contributing. More specifically, a story about what happened at the shop during their visit such as what was talked about, why they came, or what they saw and heard.
Project Objective:
South Street Talk aims to bring the community of a specified space closer through the opportunity to share stories.
Place:
This project utilizes one main path, South Street between Broad Street and 4th Street. It takes place in four coffee shops: Chapter House, The Bean Exchange, The Bean Café, and Philadelphia Java Company.
Communication Tools:
Each coffee shop will have a booth, or specified table, that holds one computer. Customers are invited to use this computer to record a story about what has happened in the coffee shop. Customers may chose to report on a conversation had, why he or she chose this place, or to explain why he or she came to a public place to conduct private business, whether that be reading, working, or holding a conversation with a friend. The user-friendly technology already exists in applications such as iMovie. Users would simply click ‘record’ and begin speaking. Other visitors may come and listen to stories left by previous customers.
Examples of Narratives:
Stories would be recorded and reviewed through the audio equipment previously described. These are examples of transcriptions of the stories:
Story type #1, event:
I came here on a first date. It wasn’t explicit that it was a date, but we knew it was. I got here second and he had gotten me a cup of coffee. My mug was black with white glazed stripes. Throughout the whole date I ran my fingers of the smoother repetitious rings. He said great things but we knew we would what we were doing was against policy, and we wouldn’t be able to meet again. I wanted to steal the mug. I don’t even like coffee.
Story type #2, routine:
I come here every evening at 5p. I tell my wife I have a meeting so I don’t have to pick up the girls. I have a croissant and cappuccino every day, like clockwork.
Story type #3, meaning:
The two girls next to my table were talking rather loudly, but I was listening closer than I should have. The one girl said “When does sex start for you?” her companion was caught off guard and laughed, nervously. The first girl tried to ease the tension, but pushed on with her question, “You know, like does it start with a kiss, a look, actual touching? When?” I don’t know why she would bring this up in the middle of the afternoon over coffee, but it was a good question.
Importance of Place + Narrative:
This project would likely materialize because these businesses serve as community centers already. They depend on community food businesses for their products. They also already serve as art galleries. The installation of this proposed booth would likely be welcomed as a piece of art. Art-friendly community members are the business clientele, suggesting customers would be more inclined to utilize and become part of an art movement, rather than reject it as an intrusion or interruption.
The Place + Narrative relationship is also of specific importance in South Street Talk because coffee houses function as a destination and an event. People frequent such places to feel comfortable and social. Individuals chose to take private matters such as conversation, reading, or working and decidedly make them public events, opening their lives up to the community. Life changing events occur in these public places without much notice from others in the environment.
Summary:
This project invites eavesdropping on your neighbor in order to build closer ties within the community, as well as define the history of a place. It relies on the theory of the derive or random wandering through a neighborhood in that you could pick just about any coffee house in the area and it would have this set up. Ordinarily just walls and windows, South Street Talks gives a human pulse to empty structures.
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