250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia
A project by PolakVanBekkum
Michael Whittington walked a couple of blocks with the Beagle west of Torresdale station to see if he can get all the way to the Delaware river. He is surprised by the mansions he sees there. Didn’t know this is also Philadelphia. “One day for the wife and kids …” he says.
While moving through Aker’s Shipyard one might be under the impression that the trucks that drive around are just man driven machines. But what if we see them as talking and listening creatures. How would the shipyard sound for them? And what are they talking about in this endless growling engine monologue?
Amazing Grace, the American Bully running around with our equipment, is attacked by young Bruno who sees it as a nice toy.
Last night was the 3rd Feedback Meeting with artists Esther Polak and Ivar van Bekkum who collaborate as PolakvanBekkum. There was a small attendance of people with six laptops set-up within the main conference area at the DM+D labs. Each computer played on continuous loop with separate completed audio tracks moving through Google Earth.
Herby we would like to announce our 3rd feedback meeting.
Fly with Us
Date: Monday, Sept 15th
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: DM+D 3711 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pa
Not far from the humming sound of traffic crossing Tacony-Palmyra Bridge from and to Jersey lies this priest. Accompanied by other remains from ecclesiastical ornaments the priest found its redemption in the the peaceful sound of water running through the Delaware river.
We went to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to listen to the river, the way the bridge itself would listen to the river…. for the bridge, it is hard to do so, as the traffic crossing is loud and it drowns the sounds of the water and of the geese and of the wind even… would it work during the night? Or would cars continue to pass… better to be present one of those magic moments when the bridge opens to make a ship pass….. Silently, at least compared to the car sounds…
Today we made a recording at one of the mady stables that exist in North Philly. Urban Cowboys. The many empty lots can be used as fields, hoofs clatter in the streets and Fairmount park is not to far. From our Amsterdam point of view a remarkable and special feature of this city!
What happens when the virtual and real worlds meet? What effects do virtual representations of mobility have on reality? Our first feedback meeting dove into some challenging concepts, but attendee and mobility research scholar Mimi Sheller was able to answer many of these hard questions. Below she makes some unexpected connections, ultimately showing how “250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia” enhances our understanding of the world around us.
Proposals for binaural recordings: another sense for objects and humans.
