The Last Word
Illegal Art
The Last Word by Illegal Art | Photo by Devon Hutchins
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The Last Word is a participatory installation by Illegal Art, a collaboration between Otis Kriegel and Michael McDevitt.
There are always things left unsaid. The perfect ending to a conversation with a stranger. A clever comeback in a debate with a colleague at work. A farewell bid to a loved one. Missed opportunities to get in the last word. What do you wish you had said? Now is the time to say it.
The scrolls in the wall are white on one end and red on the other. The scrolls with the white end facing out have not been written on.
Participants remove one of the pieces of paper, write down their “last word,” and then replace the paper with the red side exposed. The public may write their own unfinished business or read how other people’s conversations might have ended.
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The Last Word was inspired by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
The artwork has been installed at four different locations in New York City throughout the fall of 2009: The Spring Gallery, Pratt Institute, GMHC, and the Museum at Eldridge Street. Wonderspaces San Diego 2017 and Wonderspaces Arizona 2019.
The notes are different each time the artwork is installed. The conversations range from visitors engaging with deceased loved ones, writing messages to family members, and commemorating memories from break-ups.
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Illegal Art, founded in the summer of 2001, is a collective of artists whose goal is to create participatory public art that inspires self-reflection, thought, and connection. Each piece encourages participation by making it simple.
Illegal Art’s artwork has been featured by such media outlets as National Public Radio, WNYC Radio, American Public Radio, The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Flavorpill, The Public Art Review, Dwell Magazine, International Herald Tribune, Ad Age, The Guardian, including three times being featured on the New York Times Op-Ed page.
On November 3, 2018, Illegal Art Co-founder Otis Kriegel spoke at TEDx Manhattan Beach “Trail Blazers” about interactive, participatory public art.
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