Backyard Free Sound
2011
Plexiglass, Rope, Webcam, Speakers, Reactivision, Max/MSP
The project started with the collection of sounds around my house for a month prior to the installation. Neighborhood parties, rain, grilling, owls, birds, fires, wind, traffic, and voices were all saved and labeled. This interface then allowed users to play back these sound memories, and to experience the narratives I experienced while creating the project. Sitting in my backyard for many hours, I became intimately aware of my neighbors a block away who party constantly, the birds that sing at different times, the light down the street that hums at a whiny frequency, the rhythm of lawn maintenance, and unpredictable visits by owls in the middle of the night. I felt that my ears could tell me very different stories than my eyes, and I wanted to share that with others.
The interface I decided to create, is both connected to the environment around it, yet also very imposing. It floats in the environment, holding all sounds and noise that have occurred around it. Each white cards on the plexiglass surface contains a reference to a single type of collected sound, and can be interacted with by a user. As the card is placed in the view of the camera, the sound plays in a 5.1 speaker setup in relation to its position on the table. The device becomes an interface for composing an environmental sound scape.
Some of the most interesting moments in the piece are when the listener can no longer determine whether a sound is recorded or happening live. When the sample for the wind chimes was played, people looked back to see if the wind was creating the sound. This happened again when owl noises seemed to project from the branches of the trees. I thought that my piece invited the animals to interact with my piece.
To see an example of the device in use, click here. (Coming Soon)
