Rorschach Notions, a collaborative installation featuring the work of a group of artists going by the name of the Delta Camshaft Collective, was part of a larger event entitled Scattered Ephemera, which culminated in city-wide exhibitions and a performance by NPR commentator author, Andrei Codrescu.

Rorschach Notions took its name from late 19th Century Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach who pioneered the usage of inkblot tests in modern psychological analysis. The exhibit consisted of a video screen flashing period photos of Tacoma while two ‘subjects’ interpreted the narrative. On the reverse side of the kiosk was an interactive paper installation of antique wall paper, artist drawings, and prints that implored the viewer to remove and explore, thus creating their own modern ephemera.

Tollbooth: What is Rorschach Notions and how did the idea come about?

Delta Camshaft Collective: Well, like any good collaboration, we were tossing around ideas, trying to make things gel.  We wanted to do a video that paired random Tacoma photos with made up narrative, like a Rorschach interpretation.  We were determined to make the wheatpaste component more present and interactive than we had seen so far. We got the idea that we wanted to have people pull something away to reveal an image underneath; again, the idea of pieces/parts of a puzzle, the impossibility of having the whole story.  We decided to use vintage wallpaper with a pastoral print and we painted on the back of the wall paper and created decals of old Woolworths ads that we collaged over the painting.  Then we perforated the paper so that each person could pull away a secret prize that would be a ‘lil artwork in itself.

TB: How did Rorschach Notions tie in with the larger Scattered Ephemera project? 

DCC: Scattered Ephemera was a project that brought together artists from Houston, New Orleans, and the greater Puget Sound to ‘mine’ the site of its memories.  The building adjacent to the Tollbooth is an old Woolworth building, so visiting artists all created site-specific works about Woolworth and the other lives of the site.  The idea of history as a collection of ephemera is a perfect metaphor for Rorschach Notions; stories are told about images that are invented, but so much of our history is the collection of stories, some more accurate than others.  The crossover with the word ‘notion’ both as a little something that one might buy at Woolworths and an idea worked perfectly.  Scattered Ephemera was a collection of perceptions recapitulated into new renderings that stand in line to be recycled as history.

TB: How do you think paper based work and video lend themselves to public art space?

DCC: Paper provides a great tactile, immediate contrast to “piped in” imagery via monitor and speakers. If the content is integrated, the contrast can strengthen both elements.

TB: The Tollbooth is billed as the world's smallest gallery dedicated to paper/wheat paste fine art and experimental video. For your installation, you developed the paper element more elaborately than some of the other shows. How did you approach this?

DCC: We exaggerated the tactile by encouraging the viewer to touch and take away the paper, allowing something concrete to linger. The wheat paste component also can grab viewers at a greater distance, and the wallpaper we wrapped the booth with was so out of place outside that it called for examination.

TB: Describe the process of putting the paper aspect together.

DCC: We knew we wanted to have people take away something revealing something underneath.  We were thinking about a million cut out socks that were printed with letterpress and had secret messages.  Then we found out the difficulty of that. It was made to be dissected and exist in parts throughout the country.  Imagery from old Woolworths ads was the final touch to tie it to the site.

TB: How did the paper side work out logistically?

DCC: We combined some old and new tricks in unusual ways to make it work: xerox transfers with packing tape, perforating vintage wallpaper with a 100 year-old machine, and good old hand lettering. Results happened after collaborative experimentation; none of them what was originally intended, but still satisfying.

TB: What appeals to you about a project like the Tollbooth?

DCC: The 24-hour immediate access and interaction with the street scene make it a great performance piece. I’ve described it to other artists out of town and they just can’t imagine what I’m describing, but they love how it sounds.

TB: What was involved with the video aspect of the project?

DCC: Everything for Scattered Ephemera was sounding a little “historical”, so we wanted to put together something that explored how stories and oral history comes about… but that riffed a bit on the authoritative tone. First we raided the downtown public library’s image archive for the city and got copies of images from the local paper. Then we mixed in a few family scrapbook images. We then sat down and administered a Rorschach test where we showed the images to two people. We asked them, what is this, and what’s going on? The whole thing turned into a farcical psychological profile of local history… although I don’t know if it’s more revealing about the city or the people taking the test.

TB: As artists, what's the most interesting thing to observe about people interacting with the work in a public space like the Tollbooth?

DCC: With our specific project, I was amazed at how furious one woman got regarding the ‘inaccuracies’ of the narrative.  She demanded to know if the Washington State Historical Society had been contacted.  That is what is so cool, that it stops people and they are typically unsure about what they are witnessing.  I am just as amazed by those who actually take time to stop and figure it out as I am with those who allow the unknown to irritate them.

TB: The Tollbooth has been getting a lot of attention lately as a project, especially for such a relatively small and publicly funded one. Do you have any thoughts on this?

DCC: It is good and unusual. Small and mighty is great.