Project Series 44 consists of artist Adam Overton’s newest consortium, The Bureau of Experimental Speech and Holy Theses (BESHT). An experiment in public address, BESHT explores the commingling of speech, authority, and performance. Visitors will witness the artists, writers, performers, and designer of BESHT delighting in various forms of rhetorical play, ranging from dictation to meditation to proclamation. The exhibition and related projects feature a series of weekly events that temporarily convert the Pomona College Museum of Art’s project space into an experimental public speaking hall. During the rest of the week, BESHT is serving as a reading room and Free Speech Auditorium with an occasional Diction-for-Dollars Open Mic for adventurous students, faculty, and visitors. All BESHT proceedings will be broadcast online, and a weekly newspaper publication, conceptualized with and designed by Tanya Rubbak, will accompany the exhibition.

Project Series 44 complements the exhibition John Cage: Zen Ox-Herding Pictures in its unique focus on collaborative practices and experimental strategies. John Cage was well known for performing his lectures, many of which were composed using chance procedures. The project is also working closely with several departments on campus, including the Pomona College Art Department and Pitzer College’s Intercollegiate Media Studies.

BESHT is a collaboration between Adam Overton and Tanya Rubbak, and features work from over 20 Los Angeles artists and from the Claremont community.

-KJ