Abraham Blinking
Delivering The Gettysburg Address In Morse Code
This work references the use of Morse code via the telegraph (the worlds first electrical message technology) to deliver the Gettysburg Address speech to the newspapers of that time. Abraham Blinking makes use of the personal phone to relay this archaic code to our current times and signals with a sense of urgency its enduring premise.
The Abraham Blinking Project began 10/04/2022 and was finished on 3/30/2024.
The Gettysburg Address was delivered on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in the state of Pennsylvania, USA. The speech consists of 272 words and took less than two minutes. The Gettysburg Address is often referenced by democratic efforts around the world and is considered to be one of the great speeches of humanity.
Abraham Blinking delivers this message in 12 minutes at approximately 23 words per minute.
How It Works
This wall mounted artwork relies on the placement of a personal phone within its structure. A Morse code app is installed on this phone which will beep out the entire Gettysburg Address, set to loop if desired. The original construct of this piece involved the phone app broadcasting Morse code using both flash and audio. Only the audio broadcast is used for this website so as to avoid any problems for those who are affected by flashing lights.
Content can be verified using a phone with a Morse Code decoder app.
Front View
Text Label
Side View 1
Side View 2
At Rest With No Phone
Images of the construction process will be coming soon!