MUSEUM INSIDE THE TELEPHONE NETWORK - FRAGMENTS/TENTACLES

In this experimental event, the most familiar tool of communication -- the telephone network -- served as an analogy for the museum. The works and messages of nearly 100 artists, writers, and cultural figures were accessed via telephone, facsimile, and computer. Five genres were available for access: dialogues, recitations, music, novels, and comics. Each genre was equipped with a specially prepared speed-dial button that need only be pushed to gain access. It was an event that provided a preview of the ever-widening world of cyberspace.

FRAGMENTS/TENTACLES [1991] by Rick Russo and Bronwyn Rucker was part of the VOICE & SOUND Channel in “The Museum Inside the Telephone Network.” The piece was included in the commemorative CD released by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in 1991.

Rick Russo and Bronwyn Rucker, and their Meltdown Performing Arts, were engaged by Allen Bank Associates to coordinate the participation of the American artists for the project. The artists secured for the project included Laurie Anderson, William S. Burroughs, John Cage, Gregory Corso, Merce Cunningham, Allen Ginsberg, John Giorno, Jeff Koons, Tuli Kupferberg, Jackson Mac Low, Judith Malina, Anne Tardos, John Zorn, and Sol Yurick.

https://www.ntticc.or.jp/en/exhibitions/1991/intercommunication-91-the-museum-inside-the-telephone-network/

https://www.openculture.com/2017/11/the-1991-tokyo-museum-exhibition-that-was-only-accessible-by-telephone-fax-modem.html