Museum of the Hand Interactive Typographic Installation
Based on my deep interest in technology as a creative tool and the use of technology to illuminate lost knowledge, I created this installation as a mechanism to teach modern humans the skill and beauty of cursive lettering.
This was installed at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts (now the Delaware Contemporary). Participants sitting at the desk are surrounded by walls made of semi-opaque scrim to amplify the one-on-one relationship between pupil and teacher.
The installation features the Cursive Machine, created in collaboration with my father, Robert H. Pigford, which receives input from a computer keyboard mounted to a classic school desk.
When the pupil (participant) types on the keyboard and presses "enter," the machine demonstrates how to write these characters in cursive letters.
Background
As of 2017, all but nine states and territories of the United States have adopted the Common Core State Standards for K-12 education. This curriculum does not require the teaching of cursive handwriting, rather it requires keyboarding and leaves the teaching of handwriting to the discretion of the school. Further, these standards require children to "Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others."© Ashley John Pigford, All rights reserved.