Reading Response 1

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I chose the article "The Art of Noises" by Luigi Russolo.  I chose this article because I believe it best exemplifies the message of the Drift project.  In the article, which is a letter Russolo wrote to a composer friend, extols the value of noise as opposed to music.  I feel as though this is the essence of the Drift, as we are encouraged to tune out the traditional sounds we encounter in every day life and seek out that which is unique and interesting, like the noise described by Russolo.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

Russolo's main point is that man must begin to look past music as the main source of auditory enjoyment and begin appreciating the power and intricacy of noise present all around us.  In Russolo's opinion, conventional music is simply boring:  "The first bar brings the boredom of familiarity to your ear and anticipates the boredom of the bar to follow." Noise, on the other hand, offers a whole new world of exciting sound possibilities.  For noise is not necessarily loud or discordant.  Russolo goes on to list several pleasant and enjoyable noises, such as "the whistling of the wind, the roar of the waterfall, the gargling of the brook" etc. Russolo concludes with the idea that he has brought about a renewal of music with "The Art of Noises."

3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

Russolo's letter all but lays out the practices of the modern media artist.  The idea of noise as an art opens up almost infinite possibilities to a fledgling media artist, as I aspire to be.  Russolo's argument against the conventional musical arrangement of sounds provides excellent guidance for the Drift project, as well as for my future in the world of art and media.  

Soundwalk Respone

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

Not so much places, but times when we were on the soundwalk offered up some really interesting moments when sounds were incredibly distinct and interesting. 

Was it possible to move without making a sound?

In my experience, no. Every time I took a step, my sneakers would scrape against the pavement or crunch some twigs and rocks under my feet.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

I was able to differentiate many different types of sounds from, what was before, unintelligible noise. 

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

Aside from the usual traffic noise, I also heard intermittent insect buzzing, rustling paper, sneakers scraping on pavement, bouncing soccer ball, truck bed rattling, dog yelping, kids playing, and a buzz saw whirring

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?

Unfortunately, no. For the most part, without a recognizable source, I wasn’t able to place the sounds

Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?

Every so often a sound would be very distinguishable from the the ongoing drone of traffic, but subtleties were hard to detect.

Extremely close sounds? It was easier to detect subtleties. Sounds coming from very far away? I wasn’t able to detect subtleties

What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)? The wind proved to be more of a hinderance than anything, as the sound of the wind and the leaves more often than not obscured other sounds around me.

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?

Unfortunately, I was not able to intervene in the landscape during this soundwalk.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

Yes, I feel as though I appreciate the varied and diverse sounds present all around us.

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist? It will provide me with a new appreciation of sound in my future work

Drift 1 Strategy

In order to discover interesting parts of my new city, I plan to take a soundwalk. On this soundwalk, I will use the following strategy: I will use a map of Milwaukee while navigating Madison. Using my Milwaukee map, I will flip a quarter to determine whether I should turn left (heads) or right (tails).