Parts of Speech
Who speaks to you? Who speaks for you? In a series of speeches, artists, comedians, novelists, organizers, and entrepreneurs ask how to win trust, mold opinion, and orchestrate movements. They imagine the end of nations, amplify the voices of debtors, call out sham truth tellers, channel disempowered cartoon characters, and speak without language. Parts of Speech is organized and published by Triple Canopy and Public Fiction and originates with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
On the Difficulties in Writing the Truth
by Hari Kunzru
“When all the talk is of who is a real American, it takes courage to ask: who is unreal?” A novelist details how to write the truth under fascism or in so-called democracies—and how to identify those who crave “the status of being a truth teller,” those who decry barbarism and risk nothing. A doctored video and an essay.
On What We Owe
by Astra Taylor with Laura Hanna
“We’re unable to pay and, at a certain point, we’re going to need to say: we’re not going to pay!” Debtors assemble to share accounts of predatory lenders and machinic collectors, then ask how to make themselves heard above the pay-by-minute speech of creditors. A documentary video, a transcript of the assembly, and a conversation with the organizers.
On Similitude
by Steffani Jemison with Garrett Gray
“All bodies are neutral: of equal value. All movements are available to all people at all times.” An artist and a mime ask how, without language, to speak and be heard; know and be known by the world; pass information from body to body to body. A script, a video of rehearsals, and a series of illustrations.
On Onomatopoeia
by Tomeka Reid
“This music proves that we’re better as human beings than we’re told we are. And that’s a dangerous notion.” Musicians, playing with instruments and words, reflect on improvisation as speech (and resistance), audiences of accountants and doctors, and “great Black music” after Armageddon. A video of the performance and a transcript of the conversation.
On Labor and Management
by Julio Torres
“When you see a hog, you see a garbage disposal; when you see a little bird, you see … whatever he wants to be.” A comedian gives voice to the hog who eats trash for the Flintstones: he petitions the boss for a promotion only to realize that a dead-end job is destiny. A monologue in the form of a video and script.
On the Next Economy
by Christopher Kulendran Thomas
“Today, if you wanted to pioneer a New World, where would you go?” An artist-entrepreneur proposes that citizenship be freed from national borders, revolutionary states be reimagined as global networks, and streamable homes be made available to “reverse diasporas.” A script and a series of propaganda videos.