In Search of the Truth

For the music album, see In Search of Truth.

In Search of the Truth is an international, interactive public art project of a touring, inflatable recording booth called 'The Truth Booth'.^[1][2][3] The Booth is a 16-foot-tall by 23-foot-wide speech bubble that permits visitors to record videos of themselves completing the sentence, "The truth is...".^[4][5][6] It was established in 2011 as a collaboration between Ryan Alexiev, Hank Willis Thomas and Jim Ricks. ^[7][8][9]

In Search of the Truth
Location	Worldwide
Owner	The Cause Collective
Founder	Ryan Alexiev Jim Ricks Hank Willis Thomas
Established	2011
Status	Active
Website	insearchofthetruth.net

The collaborative traveling artwork is sited in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, September, 2018

In front of the Guerrero Chimalli, a Sebastián sculpture in Chimalhuacán, Mexico during the En Busca de la Verdad tour 2018.

History

Between fake news and fact checking, the truth has never been more contested, which makes this a very timely project.

— Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney, The Australian^[10]

The project was started in 2011 by artists Ryan Alexiev, Hank Willis Thomas and Jim Ricks.^[11] Will Sylvester and, now deceased LGBTQ organizer, Jorge Sanchez had joined the project more recently.^[12][13] All are members of the artist collective Cause Collective. In 2011, the project was first shown at the Galway International Arts Festival in Ireland.^[14][15] It debuted in the US during the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, VA in June 2012.

 

In Search of the Truth with For Freedoms, 2018

The project toured Afghanistan in 2013 in a partnership with Free Press Unlimited, a media development organization based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and 1TV (Afghan TV channel).^[16] In 2016, it launched a 50-state tour of the United States before the 2016 United States presidential election.^[17]

It has also appeared in South Africa, Australia, and in 2018 toured Mexico from Chiapas to Juarez visiting 20 locations under the name: En Busca de la Verdad.^[18][8][19] The 'Booth', the Mexican videos, and a documentary about the 2018 tour are part of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's exhibition Manifesto: Art x Agency showing 2019 – 20.^[20][21] In Search of the Truth was exhibited as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival in September of 2019^[22][23] and in October of 2019 the project came to St. Louis and visited Ferguson.^[24]

See also

• Art intervention
• Galway International Arts Festival
• Public art

References

1. North, Bonnie (August 5, 2016). "Lynden Sculpture Garden Takes Part In Searching for the 'Truth'". WUWM.
2. Steinhauer, Jillian (August 5, 2015). "Hank Willis Thomas Seeks the Truth". Hyperallergic.
3. Briseño, Alexander; Ragheb, J. Fiona (April 19, 2018). "Enriching the City with Public Art". Urban Land.
4. Filipov, David (April 8, 2016). "Inflatable 'Truth Booth' is art that lets you speak your mind". The Boston Globe.
5. Hotchkiss, Sarah (November 15, 2017). "In New Public Art, Hank Willis Thomas Lights Up a Loving Message". KQED (TV).
6. Martinez, Alanna (September 15, 2015). "Confess! Artist Hank Willis Thomas' 'Truth Booth' Headed for Brooklyn". Observer.
7. Brooks, Katherine (April 12, 2016). "Inflatable 'Truth Booth' Will Let Americans Vent About This Crazy Election". The Huffington Post.
8. Myrow, Rachael (Apr 14, 2017). "Step Into The Truth Booth in Palo Alto and Tell All Inside Two Minutes". KQED (TV).
9. "Honest To Goodness: One Thousand "Truths" from Detroit & Flint on Display at Cranbrook Art Museum". WDET-FM. December 14, 2016.
10. Ritchie, Emily (June 15, 2017). "'Truth booth' art installation doubles as a cultural confessional". The Australian.
11. Lawrence, Alexa (July 31, 2015). "Hank Willis Thomas's New Installation About Truth Pops Up in Downtown Brooklyn". Architectural Digest.
12. "Jorge Sanchez Obituary (1970 - 2020) San Francisco Chronicle". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
13. Kost, Ryan (2021-01-31). "'A long short life': Family, friends believe S.F. man was 'indirect victim' of pandemic". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
14. Andrews, Kernan (April 28, 2011). "Galway to enter The Truth Booth this summer". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
15. Laster, Paul (August 12, 2014). "Art Basel Visitors Tell All in Hank Willis Thomas' 'Truth Booth'". Observer.
16. "Truth Booth: Afghans tell their own truth". Free Press Unlimited.
17. Levy, Rose (June 5, 2017). "A Giant, Inflatable "Truth Booth" is Coming to Sydney". Broadsheet.
18. Cascone, Sarah (April 12, 2016). "Hank Willis Thomas Wants to Send 'The Truth Booth' to All 50 States Before Election Day". Artnet.
19. Adame, Oscar (17 October 2018). "En Busca de la Verdad, el proyecto de arte público irlandés llega a la CDMX". Warp.
20. Burakoff, Maddie. "A Globe-Trotting, Truth-Seeking Art Project Looks for Answers in D.C." Smithsonian. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
21. "Manifesto: Art x Agency". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
22. "Beat's top picks for the 2019 Melbourne Fringe Festival". Beat Magazine. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
23. "Melbourne Fringe Festival 2019". Broadsheet. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
24. Obradovic, Monica. "Speak your truth inside the Truth Booth, an inflatable, globe-trotting sculpture". ST. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-10-22.

External links

• Official website
• Video of the 'Truth Booth' being installed on The Wall Street Journal
• Interview in Smithsonian Magazine with Jim Ricks and Jorge Sanchez, 2019