THE CONVERSATION
ASSEMBLY ROW | SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS
At a turning point in the history of humanity, conversation is now more important than ever. Conversation can be an opportunity to connect, discuss, and understand something outside oneself. It gives us the opportunity to build bridges and knock down barriers, to create communities where there once were divides. While conversation has the potential to create solutions, it doesn’t always. At times, it can reveal greater challenges.
“The Conversation” is a six story permanent art installation located at Puma’s new North American headquarters in Somerville, at Assembly Row. These heads represent the coming together of ideas, people, and communities.
This unique installation is an opportunity to put conversation on display, to change the conversation, to amplify the conversation. With this project, it is the hope that we can create a digital artwork that openly (re)presents the challenges of a divided world, but celebrates the importance of dialogue and connection and shows us that in the face of adversity, conversation must persevere.
Photo Provided by Puma
The inaugural digital artwork created by HHH depicts a wide range of people, the majority of whom are local residents of Somerville and Cambridge, in “conversation.” But rather than showing participants speaking, they are depicted in a state of “active listening.” By weaving together the images and using techniques of double-exposure, this artwork strives to show the complexity and contradiction within ourselves and to visually represent the development of consensus through non-spoken words and shared thoughts. Through active listening, we gain a sense of the “other” within ourselves. The process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, is the foundation of any successful conversation. Active listening is more than just hearing, it is the conscious processing of what is being communicated, and an attempt to withhold judgment and advice.
These heads represent the coming together of ideas, people, and communities, but how can conversation generate new ideas and create solutions that we can all agree on? We believe this cannot be achieved without the practical and important component of active listening, allowing us each to achieve greater levels of awareness and understanding. After proposing the inaugural piece of content, HHH curated a series of digital artworks by local artists to appear on this unique canvas. Including but not limited to: Peter Zebbler, Pamela Hersch, Callie Chapman, and Bruce Rosenbaum.
“The Conversation” and the full sequence of curated artworks, will go live on June 1, 2021, and will be continuously playing day and night. It can be visited at Assembly Row Somerville, at the intersection of Grand Union Boulevard and Canal Street. This project was created in collaboration with Design Communication Ltd. for the Federal Realty Investment Trust and Puma North America.
Photo Credit: Steve Dunwell Photography