This work endeavors to connect the interior gallery space located in West Berlin with the exterior world through telephony. At the time it was possible to make and receive phone calls between East and West Berlin. A telephone conference call is established and these conversations are recorded, displayed and played back. The recorded tape is stored on the interior wall of the plexiglas enclosure.

The Telephone Piece is a custom designed interactive sculpture composed of three phones situated inside a 16 foot wide x 8 foot high circular plexiglass enclosure . Rails running along the top and bottom edge of the enclosure support trolley mounted recording and playback devices. If the viewer enters the enclosure and chooses to make a call, their conversations will be recorded. The recording device circles around the edge of the enclosure, simultaneously recording the conversations and adhering the audio tape to the inside. An innovative mechanism consisting of a glue dispenser and a spring loaded roller was designed and built to accomplish this. The dispensing mechanism, similar to a large ball point pen, passes over the tape and applies a small bead of quick drying glue to one side. It then passes under the spring loaded roller, pressing it up against the plexiglass surface of the enclosure. This leaves the interior of the enclosure lined with a continuous spiral of audio tape. The presence of viewers entering the enclosure, but choosing not to make a call, will be detected by ceiling mounted sensors. These activate the playback mechanism which lifts the audio tape off the interior surface of the enclosure and plays back previously recorded telephone conversations. If two or more individuals make calls, the telephone system will automatically link those calls together so they can speak to each other.