Words to the White House Via Postcards— Performance Art: “I Wish to Say” Project
Performance artist Sheryl Oring in her signature red dress and matching red manicure sat in the middle of Madison Square Garden with her vintage typewriter, postcards and Polaroid as she brought her “I Wish to Say Project” to New York City this election season.
“Dear President,” said Charlotte, a young female participant in the project who identified herself as “a very well-dressed New Yorker.” “I think everyone needs to focus more on what they wear. People’s fashion choices have become far too expressive. And as a result, designers are in a really sad place. I don’t care about practical. I want fantastical fashion. And that should be the focus of your policies.”
After dictating, Charlotte chose from a dozen rubber stamps offered by Oring, including “Urgent,” “Top Secret,” “Priority” and “Final Notice” to add some color to her postcard. Charlotte kept the original copy of her postcard with a valid stamp on the back, leaving it to her to decide whether to send it to the White House.
While the participants are given the original postcards, Oring keeps a copy of them for her record, along with a Polaroid photo of the writer in her booklet.
“I’m doing it to give people a voice so that they feel like they can express themselves to their leaders,” said Oring, “And try to speak to a broad spectrum of people who may not be represented in news media.”
People can either write to candidates, or to current president Barack Obama. Earlier this year during the primary season, people wrote more about their opinions on the candidates, according to Oring. But at this point in the election, it’s mostly “wishful thinking.”
This is the fourth election the project has covered. Oring started the “I Wish to Say Project” in 2004 and has brought it nationwide to more than 60 different places[1] . Over the years, she has collected postcards from more than 2,500 people. This year, Oring published a book, Activating Democracy: The “I Wish to Say” Project, which presents dictations of postcards she has gathered over the years.
As far as the project goes this election season, “Hillary Clinton has gained the most public attention,” said Oring. But when asked if people write to her because she seems to be winning the election, Oring paused and said, “Let’s see what will happen.”
To Oring, this year’s election derailed and college students, many of which are first-time voters, have expressed their disappointment to Oringher. “How disturbing it is to see candidates speak in such disrespectful and crazy language,” said Oring, “There are a lot of young people who are really upset about that.”
Though Oring believes political engagement is a very important part of citizenship, she excludes her own perspective in the project. “I am totally neutral in politics,” said Oring, “I don’t talk about my own political involvement in the project because I want people to feel comfortable when talking to me.”
The idea of using the “royal typewriter,” as Oring refers to it, originated from Oring’s mingled interests: an interest in performance art and her “typewriting obsession” with a collection of more than 50 typewriters.
Esther K. Smith, a female performance artist in her 60s who grew up with typewriters, is fascinated by the project. “I think what Sheryl’s doing is great. It’s really important to push forward democracy as well as the value of free speech. Sometimes people tell me they are not going to vote, but engagement is crucial, because it’s the country’s future that we are voting for.”
Besides being a practicing artist, Oring is a full-time assistant art professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This year, she’s also working on an exhibition and a digital archive of her project with colleagues at her university.
Her schedule is packed as the election is drawing closer. This October, her project shows up in New Jersey, New York City, Washington D.C., and North Carolina. The project depends a lot on Oring’s own expenses, though sometimes she gets funding from her university and the universities where she is invited to speak.
Oring is now working with a number of scholars at UNC on creating a curriculum for high school students, ranging from politics to the humanities. “They are the group who are about to become voters as they enter college, and should be equipped with certain knowledge,” said Oring. “Several high schools have approached me, and it will be my focus for the next few years.”
