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A Sound-Art Project Reconfigures Central Park"It's loud here, isn't it?" the voice asks.
Yes, you think, it certainly is. The bench you occupy, at the small plaza where Sixth Avenue runs into Central Park, is as much of the city as it is of the park. Sirens are bearing down on you from the east, up in your left ear, as though the ambulances and fire trucks might run you down. Startled, you turn to look - but there's not an emergency vehicle in sight, just Central Park South's endless stream of yellow cabs and delivery vans, a few horse carriages waiting patiently at the curb for a midmorning fare. Ah, this is the performance, you realize, turning down the volume on the audio headset you've been given. The sound of rain, the passing clop of horse hooves, a marching band's blare--any of it could be happening at this moment, but isn't.
This is the compelling tug of Her Long Black Hair, Janet Cardiff's sound-art installation for Central Park, a summer project sponsored by the Public Art Fund. As Cardiff's recorded voice guides you on a walk through the park, it's eerie how realistic the soundtrack of incidental noise is and how frequently what you see matches up with what she is describing: there is a man reading a newspaper on the bench, an ice-cream truck blocking your view of Bow Bridge, and an Asian couple posing for pictures in their wedding outfits.
more: www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.p... (202)
26/7/2004 | Viewed 18,827 time(s)
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