“My father is loosing his hearing. Many of the sounds that I hear are no longer a part of his daily experience. Many of these lost bites are sounds of comfort and familiarity. Other sounds are designed to give warning or instruction. All of these sounds are becoming lost to him and he is left more often to his own thoughts, as even basic conversation is a challenge. This situation has sensitized me to the daily sounds of my life and the larger community in which I live”. Joseph Ostraff
Publicspace(s)
This installation is comprised of sound bites collected from public places located in the greater Phoenix area. These sounds were collected from a variety of public situations including commerce, transportation, play, work, worship, organized activity, and random chaos. Photo images have been collected that document locations corresponding with the sound bites.
A creative team of artists, friends, and family has worked together to contribute to the collection of over 1000 sounds and images that make up this installation. Midway through the project, we were finding it difficult to grasp the significance of the materials being collected in public places. As we continued to work and to compare experiences it became clearer that no single sound or image would be all that significant, but the larger whole made up of all the parts could do something altogether more revealing. Some things seemed to repeat such as; airplanes that could be heard from all over the basin, the rumble of commuter traffic, and a myriad of different types of fountains creating an elusion of an oasis. We became aware of hums, clicks, buzzes, and the grind that originated from the infrastructure of society. Going to the same places at different times of the 24-hour clock revealed sounds of the user and sounds of the laborer and caretaker. Sounds have an economic value.
From certain vistas such as Hole in the Rock, near the zoo, we became aware of a hum. It was the hum that millions of people living together make as a by-product of all of their doings. This phenomenon is repeated in smaller degrees all over the valley and can be found in the inside-outside effect of a busy restaurant or nightclub or in the roar of a crowd in the sports arena in juxtaposition to the individual cheers and jeers of the people that make up the audience.
It also became clear that sounds of place confirm our position and status, both physically and emotionally, on an on-going daily basis. These sounds become so familiar, that most are sensed on a subconscious level. They are the sounds that confirm that we are in the right place at the right time. It is the unfamiliar sound, or the absences of a familiar sound that may be most unsettling—telling us that we are on foreign ground of sorts.
Participants:
Joseph Ostraff
Melinda Ostraff
Ethan Ostraff
Hannah Ostraff
Peter Everett
Sam Everett
Jacob Everett
John Telford
Linda Sullivan
Ian Sullivan
Jason Metcalf
Denise Metcalf
Wayne Madsen
Rebecca Madsen
Jeff Larsen
Tom Spindle
Christopher Krause
Olivia Juarez
Jane Egan