In the ten minutes I have been watching the He Will Not Divide Us live feed, I’ve seen:
- A self-declared “16-year old fat Jew” and a “Palestinien” recite un unison “He Will Not Divide Us”
- A middle aged white woman and a young african-american girl recite un unison “He Will Not Divide Us”
- A young man in a “Make America Great” hat and another young man engage in an extended dialog about their opposing political beliefs
- A young woman start an extended group “We Will Not Divide Us” chant
- Another shy woman ask, “who’s gonna here what I say?” and her friend respond, “THE WHOLE WORLD!”
It’s a fascinating view. A little microcosm of the world. I hope it stays civil, but given that one of the installation’s creators, Shia LaBeouf, was arrested for alleged assault a few hours ago, I worry. Take a look. Judge for yourself.
“Commencing at 9am on January 20, 2017, the day of the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, the public is invited to deliver the words “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” into a camera mounted on a wall outside the Museum of the Moving Image, New York, repeating the phrase as many times, and for as long as they wish.
Open to all, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the participatory performance will be live-streamed continuously for four years, or the duration of the presidency. In this way, the mantra “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” acts as a show of resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism, guided by the spirit of each individual participant and the community.”