The idea is to connect people with a locations aural history by changing the environments sounds. The monument will be a place to sit and hear a played back recording of what the area sounded like at a particular moment in time. The structure will act as a receptor of transmitted recordings that can be heard by anyone walking by and fully experienced by standing or sitting in front of the monument.
This idea for an improbable monument came about from my interest in sound and how it’s broadcast. Actually, more precisely, I was researching EVP, electronic voice phenomena and became interested in how people understand what they perceive they hear. EVP is the result of may different peoples experiences with hearing voices in recordings that weren’t present when the recordings were made. To me it seemed likely, and exciting, that it may be possible to capture broadcast signals in the magnetic fields that surround the Earth, or some explanation. Some people who capture these phenomena on tape believe it’s the voices of the dead. Others think they’re simply making sense from chaos.
Either way there’s something about our sense of hearing that evokes skepticism. There’s the saying “I‘ll believe it when I see it”. While this saying may be a declaration of ignorance to the micro world, it does address the idea that our sense of sound is related to our emotions, or at least something subjective to each of us.
This is not to say that sound, although it cannot be seen, cannot evoke certain feelings and reactions that we all may experience. From dancing to yawning to jumping through a glass pane window music and sounds are a personal and shared experience. But music isn’t the only form of sound that affects us. From the syllables that make up language to the everyday sounds that we tune out, sound is all around and it has an impact on us whether we realize it or not.
It's my belief that every place, block to block, coast to coast has a unique mingling of sounds that make up that environment. I remember being in New York City walking down 5th ave (?) and I came to the end of the block and proceed to walk into a forest! That forest was central park, and what an impression that left. Going from the sprawling towers of buildings into a canopy of trees, rocks and well, concrete paths too…it was a stark contrast to say the least. Having a park like that in the middle of a city really got me in touch with what the landscape might have been like at one time long before buildings and cars and even people. Although the environment within the city and park have changed over time, of course, it got me thinking that sounds can be tied to places in a similar way; places have sounded different at times, with whatever inhabited the area, and so they must have a kind-of aural history of sound. This is a similar inspiration for other artist such as Bill Fontana and R. Murray Schafer who work with sound, recording environments and making sound sculptures and sound-scapes, and what gave some shape to this idea for an improbable monument.
Project Description:
As stated in the reading “Monuments: Past and Present”, monuments can inhabit the past and the present, because they connect people in the present with the past by commemorating a particular person or event from the past. All monuments and structures can connect us with a period in time simply by stating the date in which they were constructed. This monument makes literal use of this statement, only it uses sound as a way of commemorating a location; by filtering out the sounds of the present and beaming in the sounds of the past.
This can be achieved by using Directional Sound. Directional Sound is an emerging technology that focuses sound similarly to how a laser focuses light. A beam of sound can be projected into a space with accuracy, to the point where the person next to you won’t hear it.
The structure itself will be designed to capture and amplify the sounds in a way that is most affective, keeping to a general concept of being able to fully experience a range of sounds while standing in front of the monument. My design mixes a well with a backing to capture and amplify the sounds in a natural way. Sound will be captured by reflecting off the back of monument and amplified by the hollow well-like structure at the base, similar to how speaking through a cone amplifies someone's voice. The monument will have a pole adjacent to it and out of view, with a directional sound speaker mounted on top. The looped sounds of the aural environments, or sound collages of a time in history at that location, will be transmitted from the outer pole to reflect off the monument, producing the sounds from the surface of the monument.
People walking by the monument will be able to hear something different than what is going on around them. Drawn in by this, they will have a fuller experience of the sounds by standing in front of the monument and still be able to look around with little visual obstruction.
The idea is improbable for many reasons. For one the costs of the technology I will propose to use. It may likely prove impossible to find someone willing to pay for expensive equipment that will then be left outside in the rain, wind and community. For this reason it would make more sense to locate the monument within a room or a building, but I believe it would be far more effective of an experience outdoors. Of course, location and resources permitting the equipment could be housed in a secured building. Another reason is that certain places may have been a lot noisier in the past, like the old Alameda Naval Base. Walking into a space filled with sirens and plane engines may not go so well with many people. For this reason, the location of the monument is really important. In my sketches I have it in Jack London Square in Oakland, California. I’ve spent some time in that area and believe it has some pretty unique overlapping sounds; running water from the Bay, wild life (birds), people and trains, to name some. Still, the idea remains to contrast an environment with the sounds of its past.
Benefits:
It’s difficult to say the benefits of a project like this. The idea is to connect people with their environment by changing the way their everyday environment sounds. Sound is a subjective medium and experience. Some people may enjoy hearing the past through sound and others may not. Many of us block out the sounds of our environment, because there is simply so much going on, (or maybe just consciously we do). If traveling can give you perspective in some way, then this monument would at best, aim to give perspective to people in regards to the environment they inhabit. Whether that is beneficial or not I don’t know. Personally i think it could be. As a side benefit, I think it would at least be a positive use of these technologies; in opposition to the sound canons and directional sound marketing that seem to be making this technology even a possibility right now.
Estimated Costs:
Research and Development: Three person team to research, find and record sounds of a specific environment….$67,500.
Materials and Production: Sculpture: $5,000; Pole: $30. Directional Sound Speaker and equipment: $5,000; Housing for equipment: $1,000; Solar power unit: $2,000.
Installation: $3,000
Maintenance: ???, Parks and Recreation services
Total Estimated costs: $80,530.
Timeline of Tasks:
3 months for research and recordings.
6 months for production.
3 days for installation.
Yearly maintenance.
This idea for an improbable monument came about from my interest in sound and how it’s broadcast. Actually, more precisely, I was researching EVP, electronic voice phenomena and became interested in how people understand what they perceive they hear. EVP is the result of may different peoples experiences with hearing voices in recordings that weren’t present when the recordings were made. To me it seemed likely, and exciting, that it may be possible to capture broadcast signals in the magnetic fields that surround the Earth, or some explanation. Some people who capture these phenomena on tape believe it’s the voices of the dead. Others think they’re simply making sense from chaos.
Either way there’s something about our sense of hearing that evokes skepticism. There’s the saying “I‘ll believe it when I see it”. While this saying may be a declaration of ignorance to the micro world, it does address the idea that our sense of sound is related to our emotions, or at least something subjective to each of us.
This is not to say that sound, although it cannot be seen, cannot evoke certain feelings and reactions that we all may experience. From dancing to yawning to jumping through a glass pane window music and sounds are a personal and shared experience. But music isn’t the only form of sound that affects us. From the syllables that make up language to the everyday sounds that we tune out, sound is all around and it has an impact on us whether we realize it or not.
It's my belief that every place, block to block, coast to coast has a unique mingling of sounds that make up that environment. I remember being in New York City walking down 5th ave (?) and I came to the end of the block and proceed to walk into a forest! That forest was central park, and what an impression that left. Going from the sprawling towers of buildings into a canopy of trees, rocks and well, concrete paths too…it was a stark contrast to say the least. Having a park like that in the middle of a city really got me in touch with what the landscape might have been like at one time long before buildings and cars and even people. Although the environment within the city and park have changed over time, of course, it got me thinking that sounds can be tied to places in a similar way; places have sounded different at times, with whatever inhabited the area, and so they must have a kind-of aural history of sound. This is a similar inspiration for other artist such as Bill Fontana and R. Murray Schafer who work with sound, recording environments and making sound sculptures and sound-scapes, and what gave some shape to this idea for an improbable monument.
Project Description:
As stated in the reading “Monuments: Past and Present”, monuments can inhabit the past and the present, because they connect people in the present with the past by commemorating a particular person or event from the past. All monuments and structures can connect us with a period in time simply by stating the date in which they were constructed. This monument makes literal use of this statement, only it uses sound as a way of commemorating a location; by filtering out the sounds of the present and beaming in the sounds of the past.
This can be achieved by using Directional Sound. Directional Sound is an emerging technology that focuses sound similarly to how a laser focuses light. A beam of sound can be projected into a space with accuracy, to the point where the person next to you won’t hear it.
The structure itself will be designed to capture and amplify the sounds in a way that is most affective, keeping to a general concept of being able to fully experience a range of sounds while standing in front of the monument. My design mixes a well with a backing to capture and amplify the sounds in a natural way. Sound will be captured by reflecting off the back of monument and amplified by the hollow well-like structure at the base, similar to how speaking through a cone amplifies someone's voice. The monument will have a pole adjacent to it and out of view, with a directional sound speaker mounted on top. The looped sounds of the aural environments, or sound collages of a time in history at that location, will be transmitted from the outer pole to reflect off the monument, producing the sounds from the surface of the monument.
People walking by the monument will be able to hear something different than what is going on around them. Drawn in by this, they will have a fuller experience of the sounds by standing in front of the monument and still be able to look around with little visual obstruction.
The idea is improbable for many reasons. For one the costs of the technology I will propose to use. It may likely prove impossible to find someone willing to pay for expensive equipment that will then be left outside in the rain, wind and community. For this reason it would make more sense to locate the monument within a room or a building, but I believe it would be far more effective of an experience outdoors. Of course, location and resources permitting the equipment could be housed in a secured building. Another reason is that certain places may have been a lot noisier in the past, like the old Alameda Naval Base. Walking into a space filled with sirens and plane engines may not go so well with many people. For this reason, the location of the monument is really important. In my sketches I have it in Jack London Square in Oakland, California. I’ve spent some time in that area and believe it has some pretty unique overlapping sounds; running water from the Bay, wild life (birds), people and trains, to name some. Still, the idea remains to contrast an environment with the sounds of its past.
Benefits:
It’s difficult to say the benefits of a project like this. The idea is to connect people with their environment by changing the way their everyday environment sounds. Sound is a subjective medium and experience. Some people may enjoy hearing the past through sound and others may not. Many of us block out the sounds of our environment, because there is simply so much going on, (or maybe just consciously we do). If traveling can give you perspective in some way, then this monument would at best, aim to give perspective to people in regards to the environment they inhabit. Whether that is beneficial or not I don’t know. Personally i think it could be. As a side benefit, I think it would at least be a positive use of these technologies; in opposition to the sound canons and directional sound marketing that seem to be making this technology even a possibility right now.
Estimated Costs:
Research and Development: Three person team to research, find and record sounds of a specific environment….$67,500.
Materials and Production: Sculpture: $5,000; Pole: $30. Directional Sound Speaker and equipment: $5,000; Housing for equipment: $1,000; Solar power unit: $2,000.
Installation: $3,000
Maintenance: ???, Parks and Recreation services
Total Estimated costs: $80,530.
Timeline of Tasks:
3 months for research and recordings.
6 months for production.
3 days for installation.
Yearly maintenance.
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