Philosophical Intent of Speakeasy Cubes

I, Dale Phurrough, am personally driven to bring creativity…the possibility of creativity…to the world. Everything else falls from there. My intention within art is to strengthen the relationships between one another through that art; to build social capital. The Speakeasy Cubes facilitate this by encouraging group play and interaction; transforming the audience into participants.

I’m making fun things that cause people to play together!

I’ve experienced firsthand a decline in our society; a decline in the sum of human connection that holds a society together. That intangible yet so important thing is called social capital. This is a term that Robert Putnam used in his book Bowling Alone.

In that book, Putnam demonstrated with detailed analysis that social capital has been in a decline in America for some time. People don’t attend club meetings anymore. Families don’t have dinner together much anymore. And fewer people “invite their friends over.” These are not just academic things. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It was easy to see that many people didn’t have strong social support networks which could sustain them through the crisis. Contrast this against the people that crossed the American frontier hundreds of years ago and how they supported each other through winters and crises. It didn’t matter if they were family of each other’s or not. We are a very different country now. This is not isolated to an individual’s situation or behavior. This is a societal trend.

My intention is to reverse this trend. I create art which engages participants collaboratively such that their experience is a shared one; building social capital. I engage them in a physical way; more than just sight is involved. I start off with an intention to engage all five senses and only prune as the project matures and gains focus. Also, this is not art through proxy. The art is not fully realized or expressed until the participation occurs. This is not the art of a sterile gallery; this is not isolation where you cannot touch the art. This is art FOR the people; INCLUDING the people. This is interaction. This is collaborative play.

Why me? I have an educational background in electrical engineering and computer science. I know how to make the Cubes. My previous 13 year career at Microsoft was in delivering software solutions, managing people and projects, writing software, and understanding human-computer interaction as it relates to needs. I deliver results. As a producer, I created participatory themed shows through collaboration that, in summary, merged live electronica music and modern dance with full production of lights, sound, set design, and costumes. I envision complex public art projects with intention to collaborate. I have participated in Burning Man since 2002 which requires fast innovative thinking with a limited amount of resources in a harsh and challenging environment. I make things happen!