Sledgehammer Keyboard

The Sledgehammer Keyboard is a scaled-up version of the classic desktop peripheral we use every day. The first iteration, created in 2005, is six feet wide, and features cast silicone keys that weigh one kilogram each. These keys cannot be activated without a heavy metal mallet or sledgehammer. There is no delete key.

Unlike most technology, which seeks to streamline the user experience, Sledgehammer Keyboard makes writing absurdly difficult. At exhibition, the work prompts the audience to author a collaborative document that is equal parts heartfelt, thought-provoking, and profane. The resulting text is projected live and uncensored, in order to offer the most honest accounting of a particular audience and their desire to communicate.

Sledgehammer Keyboard has been exhibited in Chicago, Austria, and India. It's fascinating to watch how different people interact with the device; children really get into it, while adults often run out of steam after banging out one or two words. In Austria, the work was installed in the public Hauptplatz, where it remained unguarded and unmolested all night, despite being surrounded by bars and rowdy teens. In India, the crowd was so dense and enthusiastic that each person only had time to activate a couple letters. In Chicago, the audience gleefully cursed, wrote poetry, made political statements, and more.

Sample of user-generated text (Chicago, 2005):

SAY CHEESE.MOST EXCELLET NT. FIURATIVELY SPEAKI LIKE ISI EARILE… EVERYBODY LOVES IDEAS
LOOK AT ALL THEM LETTERS
NWODPOT
NWODPOT
I AM HITTIN BUSH.
CONDOS SUCK.
EVERYONE ISSO MAD
WHATS UP WIT DAT.
PUPPIES.
ROMANMARBLE COPIES OF REEK BRONZE COPPERTONE BABES.
DDDKLAAKE .ONE WORLD ONE PEOPLE PEACE
DEAR DIARY…
TYPE SOMETHING GOOD
NBVCTESSICAJLOVENOTWAR
SUPCHICAGO
THE ADVENTURES OF DUM DUM AND MR. WIGGLES
GOODJOBTAYLOR
.MIKE UCKS
GORDON WAS HEER
G
LAUREN CANT SPELLHMEGANALEXAUVMOBRTYCJKIMDA
GEORGE U
GEORGE BUSH DONT LIKE BLACK PEOPLE
EVAMOMMYLOVESEVALOVESMOMMY
LOTOFWORKTHANKS