Reading Between the Lines

ThE Project

What does it mean for me to trust you? Or for you to trust me? Trust is earned, a delicate balance of actions and integrity. How does an institution like The New York Times earn your trust? Can its trustworthiness falter, akin to the fragility of trust between individuals? Could you ever perceive betrayal from an entity as vast as The New York Times? Trust is inherently uncertain, subject to the whims of circumstance and human fallibility. In these tumultuous times, where truth seems elusive and discourse is fraught, whom can you truly trust?

“Reading Between the Lines” is a project that examines and seeks to undermine the legitimacy that institutions confer upon misinformation, with a particular focus on museums. It delves beyond overt falsehoods, exploring subtler tactics such as deliberate omissions and the nuanced impact of language choices. Taking the form of a museum that presents the carefully curated socialist identity of New Harmony, Indiana, the project leverages graffiti—a medium historically adept at challenging authority—to scrutinize this narrative and unearth latent truths.

PROJECT ELEMENTS

* The museum comprises historical documents, portraits, sketches, artifacts, a documentary, and imagined interviews discussing life in socialist New Harmony. These elements are all grounded in real people, objects, and entities.

* Graffiti takes on multiple interpretations within this project, extending into audiovisual and physical forms beyond its conventional context, all with the aim of undermining established credibility. The traditional renditions of graffiti are visible only through the supplied UV flashlights.

* The performance aspect of the project entails periodic additions to the graffiti, continually challenging institutionally afforded legitimacy.

THE PAPER

In addition to documenting the project’s genesis and supporting research, the paper — which can be found here — explores broader themes, weaving personal anecdotes of navigating censorship and constructed truths with an epistemological inquiry into objectivity. It also surveys instances where misinformation on an institutional scale, both historically and ongoing, has inflicted (and continues to inflict) a significant toll on human lives.