Reading Response

The article I selected to read was "On A Clear Day I Can Hear Forever" by Gary Ferrington. I chose to read this article because the title captured my attention. The title mixes what you associate with sight (a clear day) and hearing. With this in mind, I was curious to find out what the author meant and how he was going to explain this to the reader.
The article discusses the life of the man in a city. He describes the different noises he encounters every day. Some are identifiable, daily noises, while others are hard to make out. He then continues by stating when the seasons change, the noises also tend to change. For example, Ferrington says when it is winter or is a clear day, the city becomes more quiet than usual. It is this description that gives the article it's title, "On A Clear Day I Can Hear Forever." In addition, he states that the day starts off quiet but then as the day progresses, the noises increase.
The ideas in the article are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because they discuss the variety of sounds that can be heard. The article teaches to listen to our surroundings and we will notice sounds that we have not been aware of before. In addition, we begin to recognize more sounds and associate them with objects. Finally, we can possibly associate the various sounds with time, if the sounds are routine. For example, a garbage truck usually comes the same time each time it picks up garbage. A person will know what time it is simply by hearing the garbage truck.


Erik Wagner
T.A. Heidi Spencer

Soundwalk

I was able to find places where I could really listen such as a park and a neighborhood. It was possible to move without making a sound. When I plugged my ears, the sound(s) around me became muffled and then I was able to make out the sounds clearly after I unplugged my ears. The types of sounds that I was able to hear were vehicles passing by, people talking, children yelling and playing, and electric saw being operated. In addition, I heard the wind blowing through the trees and an airplane flying over. I think I was able to recognize most, if not, all of the sounds that i could hear. The human sounds that I heard were people talking and coughing. The mechanical sounds that I heard were cars passing by, an airplane passing over and a saw being operated. Finally, the natural sounds that I heard were the wind blowing, a bug making a noise, and a dog barking.
I was not able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone. Some noises that were extremely close were the airplane flying over, cars passing by, and the sound of footsteps. Also, some noises that were far away were the wind blowing through trees in the distance and children playing and yelling. The wind blew the leaves across the ground and shook the trees that surrounded us. I was not able to intervene in the urban landscape except for the sound that my feet made as a walked down the sidewalk. After going on the soundwalk, I have a new appreciation of the sounds of our landscape/cityscape. I think that the soundwalk will affect my practice as a media artist because I appreciate the ability even more to hear the sounds of everyday life and have a new perspective on sound.

About Me

I have done some short films/documentaries, mostly showing various countries around the world. One of those films has been shown in a Thai restaurant in Seattle.