Gently Bang Your Head Against The Wall Here: An Installation About The 2016 U.S. Electoral College
Gently Bang Your Head Against The Wall Here: An Installation About The 2016 U.S. Electoral College shows how the distribution of electoral votes would change if electoral votes were not awarded under a winner-take-all system in each state, but instead were awarded proportionally based on each candidate's proportion of votes in each state. For example, if a state has 10 electoral votes and Clinton got 40% of the popular vote in that state and he got 60% of the popular vote in that state, she would get four electoral votes and he would get six electoral votes, as opposed to the current system where he would be awarded all ten electoral votes.
The installation consists of 538 soft sculpture fabric lips arranged in grid that represents the U.S. presidential electoral college map. Each lip represents one electoral vote. Lips were used because they signify our ability to speak, to be free and to stand up and publicize our views, emotions, thoughts and desires.
Lips representing electoral votes that went to him under the current winner-take-all allocation system were stitched shut with red x's.
Lips representing electoral votes that went to her under the current winner-take-all allocation system were left blank.
Then, to show the changes that would result if we switched to a proportional system, the lips that would change from him to her were unstitched with the thread left dangling from the lip:
The electoral votes that would change from her to him if we switched to a proportional system are shown by partially stitching the lip with red x's and leaving the needle in the fabric to show that the lip is changing from unstitched to stitched:
This is the grid map that shows the location of each state in the installation:
Installation as pictured is 20 feet wide by 6 feet high with the lips arranged into a grid of 30 columns and 18 rows.
Lips are between 4” and 7” wide and are pinned 1” away from the wall.
It can be installed on one wall or on two adjacent walls extending out from a corner.
The installation can be reconfigured to show the results of any year’s election.
This installation was awarded Third Place in the Renegade Fiber show at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in 2017. It was exhibited at Art Works Downtown in San Rafael, CA during my Max Thelen Residency solo exhibition in 2017. It was a part of the 2024 Politically Charged exhibition at Blue Line Arts in Roseville, CA, with an image of it featured in the Sacramento News and Review.
An optional addition to the installation is a catharsis wall inviting viewer participation. There is a padded section of the wall with the instructions to Gently Bang Your Head Against The Wall Here and there is a pillow with the instructions to Put Your Face Into The Pillow And Scream. Hyperventilation bags are available for use while viewing the installation.
Oh, and by the way . . . she would have won.