Office Semaphore

Semaphore is one of many systems of visual signaling where an object or configuration stands for a letter, word, or phrase. Related systems include the International Maritime Signal Flags system, where colored flags with geometric patterns communicate a phrase. Office Semaphore created a similar line of communication between an “insider” high up in an office building and an “outsider” standing on the ground in a public space.

Several times each week over a period of two months, an office worker arranged a group of objects in his office window. A powerful spotting telescope on the ground was fixed in position and trained on the objects in the window. The selection and sequencing of these objects corresponded to a predetermined key such that various combinations translated into specific phrases. A panel with the object-phrase correspondences allowed viewers to translate these phrases and receive the dispatches from the individual inside. These phrases—like “Must alter course,” “Proceeding without incident,” and “I require a tug”—were modeled on the language and tonality of the International Maritime Signal Flag system.

The phrases themselves were developed in conversation with the office worker so that they would refer metaphorically to the kinds of problems, victories, and challenges that he typically faced on the job. Office Semaphore bridged across physical space (from ground level to the upper floors of a building) as well as between public and private space (outdoor to indoor), forming a portrait of a person who was always communicating from just out of sight.