Philip Gates – Looking Outwards 02

Ben Rubin – Shakespeare Machine (2012)

Ben Rubin’s Shakespeare Machine uses an algorithm to select phrases or combinations of words from Shakespeare’s plays, and displays them on a series of 37 LED screens installed in a chandelier in the lobby of New York’s Public Theater. Each screen represents one play and displays text taken from that particular play.

The algorithm selects for various contextual and grammatical similarities (e.g. hyphenated adjectives, the word “you” plus any noun, nouns that describe the human body) and displays a phrase from each play at random.

Rubin’s passion for data and the excitement of analyzing texts at a micro level (he has done several other similar projects) come through clearly in this piece. For me, this piece is a visually exciting way of demonstrating Shakespeare’s constant inventiveness as a writer. Its placement in the Public Theater, which produces New York’s free Shakespeare in the Park, is a perfect pairing of artwork and site.