Evolution of Communication with Ian Sanborn

[TRANSCRIPT. Note: The transcript is intended to be English descriptions and is not the English version of this ASL poem.]

(Ian Sanborn is standing in front of a white background. The video is in black and white.)

A swirl of people speaking to each other.

I sit and watch in silence.

I stand up.

I walk.

I walk amid the noise.

Someone tries to speak to me.

I keep walking.

Someone tries to speak to me.

I attempt to sign back.

It is futile.

I gesture back.

I write back.

People keep speaking to me.

People bump into me.

I start to run.

Suddenly, there is ringing. I pause.

Someone walks up and answers the phone.

I reach out, but the person holds up their finger to me.

Now ringing is everywhere.

Everyone is talking to each other.

I write a note and show it to a person.

They read it and hand it back to me, still talking on the phone.

Amid the noise there is silence.

I continue walking.

The ground shakes.

I come across a door.

I open it.

I press on the heavy TTY keys.

I type faster.

The ground vibrates.

Paper scrolls up.

"I love you."

I leave the room.

I walk.

Lights flash.

I enter a room.

There is a light flashing.

I come across a TTY and place a phone atop it.

A lightbulb goes on.

Words appear in a scrolling marquee.

"GA"

I type back.

I type "GA"

Words appear again.

We type back and forth.

"SK"

I rip the paper off.

"I love you SK SK"

I attempt to bring the TTY with me.

I cannot.

I leave the room.

I walk.

I come across a door.

I open it and see a screen.

I press the remote and an eye flaps open.

The screen powers on and I fall back into a seat.

An interpreter appears on the screen.

I start to sign and the interpreter interprets.

My heart swells.

I sign.

I hang up and the screen powers down.

I leave the room.

I walk.

I come across a door.

I open it and there is a phone.

I scroll up.

I press on the phone and an interpreter appears.

I sign back.

I sign "I love you."

I scroll up.

The phone falls down.

I take it with me out of the room.

I walk.

I sign.

I walk and sign.

I spot someone signing.

I walk.

Someone comes up to me and signs.

I sign and sign.

I walk and sign.

I sign freely.

I approach a door.

I open the door.

(Ian is now in front of a landscape inside a white frame. The video is in color.)