The San Francisco airport, SFO, regularly features engaging exhibits. There was one recently about the art of ouija. Titled The Mysterious Talking Board, it brought a halo of sound to the topic, insinuating the notion of the “voice” of the unseen, otherworldly interlocutor. Currently in Terminal 2 there is a show that calls out for a sonic complement. The Typewriter: An Innovation in Writing (which runs from May 13, 2017, through January 28, 2018) displays dozens of typewriters from numerous stages of the technology’s development and, like this Chinese item shown here, from various places where characteristics of specific languages put unique demands on the underlying concept. I came away from it excited for another glimpse after my return flight, but also wishing I could hear what these different machines sounded like when in use.
An ongoing series cross-posted from instagram.com/dsqt.