Via news.3yen: Telephoneboxing is an art installation which very clear aims:
Telephoning has lost its physicality; it has literary become weightless. The smaller the telephone gets, the easier it is to communicate, anytime, anywhere, with anyone. (...) What would communication mean if a phone call would become an extremely physical action? When dialing a number requires a lot of concentration and words need to be exclaimed?"Telephoneboxing" is an installation which explores the borders of communication. In a 20ft container, 10 buttons are attached to the walls. The buttons look like boxing balls and that is exactly what they are. In order to make an international phone call, one puts on boxing gloves and hits the buttons to dial a number. When a connection is made, one has to stand in one specific spot and speak loudly in order to be heard. The answer can be heard on a spot a few meters further into the container. The calling person will automatically adjust the level of communication to his or her eagerness to talk and/or to his or her physical condition.
Why do I blog this? I like this idea of re-introducing physicality in phone communication using tangibility.