SF0 / swm / Suggestions Box

25 + 211 points

Suggestions Box by Sean Mahan, lara black, qwerty uiop

March 20th, 2008 2:17 PM / Location: 37.770989,-122.4319

INSTRUCTIONS: Take a large box and label it 'Suggestions'.

Decorate it if you want.

Take it with you and get suggestions from strangers.

The suggestions can be about anything.

The Waller and Steiner Suggestions Box is a living social experiment (or "dialogue organism") developed to encourage community understanding and engagement, introduce internet-like self-organization strategies into a non-internet environment, and reconfigure notions of authority and responsibility within neighborhoods. Installed under the cover of darkness, The Waller and Steiner Suggestions Box brings light to the aspirations, anxieties, humor, hubris, pet peeves and imaginations of a People.

Participants use a standard ballpoint pen (provided) to record their suggestion on a standard unlined 3"x5" index card (provided). At this point The Waller and Steiner Suggestions Box presents two options: a bright red drawer marked "private" and secured by a padlock, or a background-grey drawer marked "public", which can be opened by any participant in the project. On depositing the card in either slot, the participant is rewarded by feelings of Satisfaction and Accomplishment.

Over the course of the installation, the "private" drawer has primarily received suggestions directed at the imagined creators of the suggestion box, sometimes referring to past installations at this location; and confessional notes, pleas of a romantic nature, and other personal or confidential matters. The "public" drawer has seen a wide array of suggestions, notes, drawings, advertisements, and plastic eggs. Frequent themes have included criticism of local law enforcement, complaints regarding dog droppings, and requests for more suggestions boxes ("in L.A.," "near my apt," etc).

While The Waller and Steiner Suggestions Box is designed to be a tool for individuals and groups to express their concerns and aspirations, it also serves as a platform to discuss neighborhood grievances. Approximately two weeks into the life span of the project, short comments began to appear on "public" suggestions ("right on!", "yes!"). This was a desired effect. Ultimately, the implementation of many of these suggestions can only move forward with the participation of a majority of community members.

The Waller and Steiner Suggestions Box also illustrates how such information can be collected and manipulated outside of a businesses or government context. Our hope is to encourage thinking beyond the individual self ("I do not care if a bar database has my name and address and time of visit...") toward understanding databases as a discursive, organizational practice and an essential technique of power in today's social field.

The project launched February 24, 2008, in San Francisco. Private suggestions have been collected for secure analysis, and public suggestions photographed for archival purposes, at irregular intervals since then. It was discovered on March 14th that many of the public suggestions, including a plastic egg containing plant matter, had been taken. The text of the instructions provided to participants, and an incomplete but representative sampling of public suggestions follow.

SUGGESTION BOX

This suggestion box obtains comments, questions and requests.

Received suggestions are recorded in a robust database capable of tracking trends, biases and unspoken desires.

Not all suggestions will be responded to or implemented, but all suggestions will be taken into consideration.
Some suggestions will be implemented secretly.

Improving satisfaction and experience is one of our goals.

---- Instructions ----

Take one blank suggestion card from the suggestion card holder. Hold the card in your hand and concentrate on a personal or public concern. When Ready, Write your suggestion in block letters using a black or blue ballpoint pen (provided).

Yield frank and open feedback.

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