A humorous interactive installation of porcelain chattering teeth that, when approached, pause for a reading of one of 29 satirical maxims on how to be a shrewd gossip.

“Never suffer a good lie to die in your hands, but pass it on to your neighbor.” — Twenty-nine Maxims for the Shrewd Gossip, 1825

Exhibited at the Islip Art Museum in East Islip, NY, Gossip’s Manual is a humorous interactive installation of 46 porcelain chattering teeth arranged in small groups on lit wall mounts, or “cells.” The clamor pauses whenever a viewer approaches a single cell, replaced by a recorded professorial voice reciting satirical principles of conduct for a good gossip. The 29 maxims are drawn from an addendum at the back of Mr. Garrett’s Lectures on Female Education.

The concept for the installation began with Teresa’s discovery of Garrett’s textbook in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania. Her subsequent research into the etymology of the word gossip led her to the root word godsib, which referred to extended family not related by blood but considered kin nonetheless. Teresa found an example of usage in a late 15th-century play in which Noah’s wife argues that her godsibs accompany her on the ark. Following that thread through her research, she conceived a playful installation that traces the word’s long slide from kinship to scandal.

Photos

1. Detail, a single wall-mounted “cell” with a partial view of the piston-like mechanism · 2. Detail, porcelain teeth in motion · 3. Installation, partial view of lit wall-mounted cells

Photo credits: Gary McKinnis