While keeping in mind the significance of silence I decided to create a soundscape that evoked the mood that I felt during 9/11. Although I was a very young child on that day, I, like everyone else, was affected by it and continue to be. In McLuhans words he explains that "Music shall fill the air" and on that day, what many people along with myself felt in the air was danger. There was a sense of the unknown, a fear of not knowing what was coming next. This soundscape is a representation of those uncertainties.
This soundscape was very powerful. We both have the 9/11-ness of silence. When I first heard about 9/11 (I think I was in the second grade), the parents seemed to be in a never ending loop of crazed chatter. I was silent. Maybe it was because I didn't fully understand what was happening, but everything seemed muted. I know that after catastrophes people expect sirens to go off. With wide-spread catastrophe comes rules and regulation. When an air raid siren goes off, people are expected to move to a safe place, but when the towers hit, there was chaos. There was no rule book for a plane crashing into a tower, you didn't go to your basement until the news signaled safety.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of closing the soundscape with silence was quite powerful. It connected the idea of national tragedy and shock. The idea of a plane crash comes with one expecting to hear the following sounds of and chaos and terror, explosions, etc. The silence makes the project all the more resonant for the listener.
Steven, I think it's safe to say that you had one of the most effective soundscapes in the class, if not the most effective. I'm struck yet again by your ability to put forth your art and really communicate your message. Thanks for sharing this intimate part of yourself, that's often the art that I like the most, unsurprisingly :)
ReplyDelete