OHM
1996
11 in. x 9 in.
Currently In the collection of the Artist
....Tuck took the Hallmark idea of talking greeting cards. But instead of a message, a visitor touching the card hears the humming of a Buddhist priest...
Annie Nakao, The San Francisco Examiner.
ABOUT MY SCULPTURE, OHM
Ohm contains a drawing of the Buddha done on the blank page of a drug store greeting card that allowed the sender record their own greeting. I recorded myself reciting the Buddhist mantra, "OM."
The sound of my voice is triggered by touching the two screws mounted on the front of the piece, or an optional electrical extension of the screws.The original greeting card circuitry is exposed, as are the four batteries that power the piece.
The drawing was created by using my recently injured thumb as a sort of bloody rubber stamp.
OHM as publicly exhibited, with the following graphic wall text:
OHM
Touch the two screws at the end of the black wire.
The sound that you hear (the Buddhist mantra OM) is a recording made on an electronic circuit taken from a Hallmark “record your own message” greeting card.
The image is a portrait of The Buddha.