Transcribed, 2012

YouTube allows millions of strong opinions to be at the fingertips of the country. Values and beliefs can now be formed from influences living across the globe. Transcribed consists of appropriations of YouTube screen captures depicting incorrect captions rendered by the site’s “transcribe audio” option, which was still in its early stages of efficiency. The strange pairings of video and text highlight a disconnect within something familiar, comfortable, and trusted. These absurdly incorrect captions narrate worldly, political, or social issues and the text becomes a strange sort of poetry. This project raises questions of conspiracy, communication, humor, identity, and image. How does text affect the viewing of a person? Using both celebrities and non-celebrities, the line between fame and normality is blurred. This mix of people is linked together by this globalized text and repeated words.

Installed as a projection slideshow and accompanied by an audio mix of the truthful quotes, the viewer has a chaotic experience. The audio and video and not dependent on each other so each experience is unique.