site specific sound: a psychogeographic experiment
psychogeography: exploring a space by drifting in a random matter to experience an environment in a new way.
My cohort and I explored the Weitz on a dérive (French for "to drift", for the uncultured readers) designed to experience the sonic qualities of the Weitz. We planned a series of sonic episodes (represented by the red dots) to develop a route. Along the route (yellow line), we had a series of sonic encounters (black dots) involving random interactions with humans in the Weitz.
The dérive was conducted according to a set of rules:
1. At each predefined sonic episodes, the experimenters will perform and record a predetermined sound interaction with the environment.
2. All people within reason met upon the route (defined as sonic encounters) must be asked
for a sound-byte and their position noted on the map.
3. Note geospatial position of notable sounds—don’t forget to
record them too.
4. Derive must be completed within one instance and will run
until completion of the final stage; there is no time limit.
List of Sonic Episode Destinations:
1. Main Entrance (door opening)
2. Museum (verbal disturbance)
3. Commons (three claps)
4. Courtyard (physical disturbance)
5. Dance Studio (acrobatic performance)
6. Small Gallery (aggressive engagement of environment)
7. CAMS Study Nook (couch plop)
8. Classroom 136 (blind engagement)
9. Southeast Staircase (ruler rattler)
10. Large Meeting Room (aggressive engagement with chairs)
11. Second Floor Study Nook (book throw)
12. Drawing Studio (prop engagement)
13. Second Floor Cinema (stair gallop)
14. Second Floor Mezzanine (glass bang)
15. Catwalk (three claps)
16. Elevator (doors dinging)
The Findings:
We compiled our sonic experiences into this sound clip and compiled a series of photographs to represent the noises. We only provided the images to demystify the source of the sounds.
For optimal experience of this experiment, listen to the track and look only at the maps and trace the yellow path. Reference to the following list of sound bytes may be used in case of confusion as to the source of the sound.
#
|
Planned
Sonic Episode
|
Performance
|
Sonic
Encounter
|
1
|
Front Door
opening
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
Ben: “Oh,
that sounds cool let’s record it.”
|
Museum door
opening
|
3
|
-
|
Sophie
reading from her art history book.
|
Sophie
Kissin, my former roommate, works at the desk of the museum.
|
4
|
Museum
(verbal disturbance)
|
I
screamed really loudly.
|
Sophie
giggled.
|
5
|
Commons
(three claps)
|
Three
claps
|
-
|
6
|
-
|
Reading
from her linguistics book.
|
Lydia.
|
7
|
-
|
Typing an
email.
|
Emma.
|
8
|
Courtyard
(physical disturbance)
|
I threw a
metal chair at a metal table. It was very loud.
|
A
stranger was shocked at the noise I made.
|
9
|
-
|
The
stranger from sound 8 was reading a book. We asked him to read from us but
the wind prevented any intelligible sound.
|
Professor
Morino.
|
10
|
-
|
Dancing
feet on a table.
|
Shira.
|
11
|
Dance studio
(acrobatic performance)
|
Three
Dancers and Mary danced and stomped aggressively.
|
Three
dancers.
|
12
|
-
|
Water
fountain noise.
|
Graeme
using the water fountain.
|
13
|
-
|
Graeme
was listening to headphones. We captured the sound from the internet.
|
Portugal,
the man
|
14
|
Small gallery
(aggressive engagement of environment)
|
Banging
on the walls.
|
-
|
15
|
CAMS
Study Nook (Couch Plop)
|
Plop.
|
-
|
16
|
-
|
A strange
woman wearing athletic clothes was eating something out of a Tupperware.
|
Tara chewing.
|
17
|
-
|
Sebastian
walking made this sound.
|
Sebastian
“boop”
|
18
|
-
|
Braeden,
known to me as a man with flowing hair and an athletic-looking, everpresent,
short girlfriend, made these noises with Ashanti.
|
Braeden and
Ashanti
|
19
|
Southeast
Staircase
|
Rattled
ruler on the railing.
|
-
|
20
|
Large
Meeting Room (aggressive engagement with chairs)
|
We
jousted the chairs at each other.
|
-
|
21
|
Second
Floor Study Nook (Book Throw)
|
Ben thought
I was going to drop the books. I threw them at him. Passerby gasped and
looked shocked.
|
-
|
22
|
Drawing
Studio (prop engagement
|
Skeleton
rattle
|
-
|
23
|
-
|
Ben played
the trumpet.
|
-
|
24
|
Cinema
|
Denied:
the door was locked.
|
-
|
25
|
-
|
Meditation
sound (silence).
|
Simon Genet
meditating
|
26
|
-
|
Ice
|
Man
rattling ice.
|
27
|
Window bang
|
Three
bangs.
|
-
|
28
|
Catwalk clap
|
Three claps
|
-
|
29
|
Elevator
|
Door
opening, dings.
|
-
|
mdb
