Oracular Post Script: The Ones That Got Away

The day of de-installing, most of the answer balls are out of the Randomizer. They are all over the shelves and the floor. There's a (used) paper cup in the hole in the gallery floor. The approx. 3" in diameter hole seen in the photo above.

The gallery was open after I left the closing party, because the mural party and the digital stories screening next door were still going on.

When I gather up the balls and put them in the Randomizer, about 1/3 or 1/2 of them are missing.

So either they went down the hole, or someone needed a lot of answers.

Four Oracles, One Question Video Stills

The video projection I made for the ORQ installation shows a non-scientific research project in which I asked the same question of four different oracles: the I-Ching, ORQ[The Oracle of Random Quotes], the tea leaves, and the tarot. These are three stills from the video, which is projected onto cheesecloth on the floor.


Opening Sequence

The Question


Oracle 4: The Tarot

Record-Breaking Day of ORQ Consultations!

On Saturday 10/10 there was a steady stream of visitors in the gallery, and some great conversations. I knew I'd done a lot of listening for the Oracle that day, and was even a bit tired. The most I'd done in a day before was 9 or 10 readings. Yesterday I counted the transcripts - each ORQ reading is written by hand - and there were 17 consultations with the Oracle!

Amazing night gallery-sitting ORQ

I thought no one would show tonight, and I was so, so wrong. Catherine & Mark stopped by right after about 12 teenage girls appeared asking "what is this??" They wandered in after practicing rowing??? In the middle of industrial Long Island City, Queens? I didn't quite get that, though I do know about the kayaking out of the LIC Boathouse so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

After my spiel about oracles and ORQ, we ended up doing LOTS of readings, mostly about whether he used to love me, still loves me or will love me. When I commented that they were all asking the same basic question, one says "Of course! We're teenage girls!" Doh!

A creepy guy was hanging around too (they didn't know him). He wanted a turn to ask and when he did it was a really obnoxious, inappropriate question. I said "You hung around all that time to ask *that*??" No, the Oracle will not tell you when certain parts of your body are going to get licked. I kicked him out of the gallery, then the girls & I got back to the real business - divination. They definitely liked The Randomizer. Some posed for a picture with the "Nine Bonafide Questions for an Oracle" piece. So glad they stopped by.

Workshop: Create Your Own Oracle!

The workshop is from 3 - 5 PM on Sunday October 11 at Local Project
Gallery, 45-10 Davis St, off Jackson Ave. near the Court Sq. Diner and
P.S.1/MoMA. It is being held in conjunction with the exhibition ORQ[The
Oracle of Random Quotes] and led by Artist/Listener Priscilla Proudwoman Stadler. The workshop is free. To register please call 917-273-0145.

What are oracles? Why have so many people, in so many cultures, relied on divination tools for insight and information? Do oracles tell the truth or just perpetuate superstition? What is magical thinking, and does it ever come in handy for navigating life choices in today’s world?

While exploring these topics and our experiences with oracles of various
types, in the workshop we will use a variety of settings (indoors/outdoors) and materials to create homemade oracles that may help to guide us, or at least lead us to some interesting dialogues about meaning and the ways we seek it in our lives.

Disclaimer: the description sounds really serious but the workshop will be fun!