This game of telephone inspired nearly 1000 artists in 72 countries during the pandemic

I began the project with no preconceived notions.

Imagine that I called you on the telephone to give you a message. Then you called a friend to relay that same message. And that friend called another. And the friend of the friend called another, each repeating the message they thought they had heard until it had been sent to more than 900 people in 493 cities across 72 countries.

That’s what Seattle poet/musician Nathan Langston set in motion a year ago, when he launched the TELEPHONE International Arts project, bringing together artists of every genre to participate in artistic translation. Only Nathan, the originator of the message, knew what it actually said.

It was up to the artists to interpret it into their art form. So a musician might compose a song that would be sent to a painter who turned it into a colorful canvas. I was sent a film and a poem to interpret into prose.

I began the project with no preconceived notions. It was like opening the door to an unexpected visitor and deciding whether or not you want to let him/her in. Each time I did the exercise of watching the film and listening to the poetry, I came a little closer to wanting to invite the visitor in for tea.

Then I became a very good listener, so I could hear the message the visitor dispatched to me. Of course, it was in code leaving much to my imagination and that was the fun part. I felt an immediate vibe about “time” that I needed to follow.

It was sobering and exciting to dive deep into an unknown world and uncover a very specific story waiting for me. It turns out it was not unknown, only untapped.

I do not yet know if “time” was the message intended by the artists whose work I received, or, what the original message was from Nathan. But I am going to find out soon…and so can you. The TELEPHONE exhibit is available online at https://phonebook.gallery.

It’s the story of how 900 artists engaged during the pandemic year when gifted with extra time to think and create.

Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net follow her on Twitter @patriciabunin