A set of automatic doors at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, the ones just beyond luggage carousel #1, has been rigged to play prerecorded messages as part of a Broward County public art piece called “Talking Vestibule” by Jim Green. I’ll bet this guy knows of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its inanimate objects infused with “Genuine People Personalities,” including doors with “a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.”
With Green’s doors, about once every three opens, there’s a synthesized multinote chime, then the disembodied voice of a man or woman states one of the following, with the diction, cadence and enthusiasm of Mr. Moviefone:
- “Hi there! You’re going to have a great day!”
- “You’re beautiful!”
- “Hello there! You’re looking good today!”
- “Hi there! You make me smile!
- “It’s a beautiful day. Nice shoes!”
The reaction among the travelers passing through the doors wasn’t notable as I observed while waiting for my checked bag to emerge onto the conveyor belt. But I appreciated the contrast between the dueling sets of airport recordings: the vestibule’s cheerfully declarative mood versus the airport’s monotone imperatives about threat conditions, unattended vehicles and clear plastic zip-top bags.
Green’s other sound installation at the airport is part of luggage carousel #1 itself. Instead of a grim buzzer signaling the waiting crowd to press forward for the lurching procession of bags, a jaunty 10-second merry-go-round pump-organ ditty plays, which garnered a few incredulous laughs.