On the River

During evening hours on the bridge we used a traditional overhead projector to show text combinations. Words were deliberately chosen to create new suggestions about the river and interacting with it. Each evening a different verb was chosen, hand cut out of card stock, and then put on a transparency. The title was split into four different slips of paper- on the, on, the, and river. As the night went on the order of the verb plus our “on the river” slips were interchanged to create new phrases or uncommon combinations. Sometimes in addition we would put water in a clear tub over top of the text to create a blurred underwater effect when projected. Movement of either words or water seemed to attract folks from other areas.

Words we have used so far: slurp, weave, muddle, and chew (combination examples: slurp river, river weave, on the chew)

The process of having to sit near the projector, to change the slips,allowed for dialogue with people going past. It was interactive enough to create interest, but not so involved technically that good conversation couldn’t happen simultaneously. Lots of children sit and talked for a while, they often were the most inquisitive about what it was or meant. Whether the text created a real action or an imagined one, the phrases were playful and thoughtful at the same time.