tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78112750828799730362024-03-05T07:11:39.035-08:00Sonic WallpapersFelicity Ford uses the MoDA wallpaper collection to hang the walls with sounds.Zoë Hendonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010127325492276206noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-55563555753387255632012-09-10T01:53:00.003-07:002012-09-10T03:12:41.569-07:00Sonic Wallpaper Radio ShowThey say that Radio is great for pictures, and so I thought it would be good to test that theory out by making a whole radio show exploring the concept of Sonic Wallpaper. This show will air on the following radio stations at the following times as part of the excellent and always inspiring framework:afield series, curated for framework:radio by Patrick McGinley.<br />
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- Tuesday, 11th Sept, 12:30pm, South Devon, UK on <a href="http://www.soundartradio.org.uk/" target="_blank">Soundartradio 102.5fm</a><br />
- Wednesday, 12th Sept, 3am, Lisbon, Portugal on <a href="http://www.radiozero.pt/" target="_blank">radio zero</a><br />
- Thursday, 13th Sept, 7pm, Lisbon, Portugal on <a href="http://www.radiozero.pt/" target="_blank">radio zero</a><br />
- Thursday, 13th Sept, 11pm, Maribor, Slovenia on <a href="http://radiomars.si/">radio marš 95.9fm</a><br />
- Friday, 14th Sept, 1am, Brussels, Belgium on <a href="http://www.radiocampusbruxelles.org/" target="_blank">radio campus 92.1fm</a><br />
- Saturday, 15th Sept, 11am, New York State, US on <a href="http://wgxc.org/" target="_blank">wgxc 90.7fm</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html" target="_blank">use this converter for local broadcast times</a><br />
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Additionally, the Sonic Wallpaper radio show will be available as one of the podcasts in the framework:radio series and will be available to hear online <a href="http://www.frameworkradio.net/">here</a> very soon!<br />
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Here are the shownotes for the radio show; keep reading to learn of new developments in the Sonic Wallpaper project!<br />
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I've been working on Sonic Wallpaper with the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture for a year, and the project is designed to expand on how we normally think about wallpaper, bringing the act of listening into a context which has historically been purely about looking. Although wallpaper is designed visually, we experience wallpapered rooms with all of our senses, and our memories are stimulated as much by sounds and smells as by sights; a cheery 1960s design might instantly remind someone of a coffee pot gurgling away on their granny’s stove, while the flowers in another design might instantly remind someone of sea-creatures or a relative who loved to garden.<br />
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Personal associations which link place, memory and sound are the basis for Sonic Wallpaper; they are what allow us to move our imaginations between what we see, and what we hear. To make Sonic Wallpaper, I interviewed several people in November 2011, showing them various designs held in the collection of the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture. I then listened through to the interviews and collected field-recordings in response to what had been said about the different designs. I wanted to celebrate the specific way that people discuss their DIY plans, and to extend the fantasies of home-creativity using the medium of sound. When someone said “that reminds me of church” I wanted to introduce the sound of that church, so that a third party – a listener like you – can hear and imagine the space.
Think of the project as being like a sampler of sonic textures… a playful exploration of the question “what would it be like, if we could decorate our homes with sounds?”<br />
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For this framework:afield radio show, I have collaged the interviews and the sounds into a continuous stream of sound, and I hope that listening to the results will be a bit like flicking through a book of wallpaper designs with your ears, imagining where you might put them.<br />
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I am curious to know how Sonic Wallpaper translates to radio… I hope that browsing through these Sonic Wallpapers will give you a thoroughly new set of rooms to imagine – rooms designed somewhere in the space between remembering, imagining, and listening.<br />
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If you like this radio collage you can hear the individual sound pieces created in response to MoDA wallpapers on Soundcloud at <a href="http://soundcloud.com/modamuseum/">http://soundcloud.com/modamuseum/</a>.<br />
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Note: the numbers beside the wallpapers listed here in the tracklist are the accession numbers of the wallpapers held in MoDA's collection.<br />
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Helen, Colleen and Joceline discuss wallpaper SW 1029<br />
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ink pen writing on parchment in Dr Johnson's attic, London<br />
Italian stove-top espresso-maker gurgling on the stove<br />
hydrophones inside the aquariums at the Horniman Museum, London<br />
hydrophones inside the aquariums at the The Aquatic Design Centre, London<br />
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Joceline discusses wallpaper BADDA 4856<br />
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organ at St James & St William of York church, Reading<br />
wet brush on wallpaper<br />
radio in the room next door<br />
loom at The Handweaver's Studio, London<br />
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Colleen, Annie, Jo and Mel discuss wallpaper BADDA 4384<br />
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public swimming baths on King's Road, Reading<br />
electric kettle boiling<br />
cutlery drawer<br />
rhubarb jam bubbling<br />
1700s clock mechanism, The Clockmaker's Museum, London<br />
clownfish tank at the Aquatic Design Centre, London<br />
matchbox cars on wooden floorboards<br />
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Helen and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4377<br />
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matchbox cars on carpet<br />
matchbox cars on concrete and grass<br />
outdoor cafe areas and coffee shops<br />
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Joceline, Tom, Anthony, Colleen, Annie and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4380<br />
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super8 projector<br />
fireworks<br />
sparklers<br />
popcorn popping<br />
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Jo, Mel, Helen, Tom, Anthony and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 2301<br />
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Indian restaurant<br />
mustard seeds popping<br />
onions frying<br />
an open fire<br />
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1720 clock mechanism, The Clockmaker's Museum, London<br />
1750 clock mechanism, The Clockmaker's Museum, London<br />
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Colleen, Annie and others discuss BADDA 4770<br />
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Wendy Morris's loom, London<br />
looms at the Handweaver's Studio, London<br />
clock mechanisms, The Clockmaker's Museum, London<br />
electric kettle boiling<br />
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Colleen, Joceline, Tom, Anthony, Mel, Jo and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4855<br />
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vintage porcelain chinaware clinking<br />
tea-drinking<br />
dawn chorus birdsong, Ipsden, Oxfordshire<br />
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cattle lowing, Oxfordshire<br />
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Anthony, Tom, Colleen, Annie, Mel, Jo and others discuss wallpaper SW2097<br />
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cows shuffling about and mooing, Dippenhall<br />
wax crayons on paper<br />
woodblocks and wet paint printing<br />
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screenprinting at Cole & Sons Wallpaper Factory, London<br />
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Anthony, Tom, Colleen and Annie discuss wallpaper BADDA 4857<br />
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rain on the thin, plastic garage roof<br />
ascending the creaky old staircase at Dr Johnson's House, London<br />
a window closing at Dr Johnson's House, London<br />
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the gas cooker<br />
sausages frying<br />
Munchies cafe, Reading<br />
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Joceline, Jo, Mel, Tom, Anthony and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4774<br />
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Rachael's till<br />
sausages frying<br />
Italian, stove-top espresso maker<br />
egg frying<br />
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Dr Johnson's old, creaky hallway<br />
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Colleen, Annie, Anthony, Tom and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4854<br />
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wet paint and roller<br />
music and pint-pulling down the local<br />
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Helen, Jo, Mel and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4385<br />
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jazz in the foyer of The National Hotel, Miami<br />
shaking ice in a cocktail shaker<br />
ice cubes going into a glass<br />
pebbles on the beach<br />
shaking sheets of silver foil<br />
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Joceline, Tom, Anthony, Helen, Colleen, Annie and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 4782<br />
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walking in the forest, Marros Mountain, Wales<br />
walking in the snow<br />
ice melting<br />
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organ at St James & St William of York church, Reading<br />
public swimming baths on King's Road, Reading<br />
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Colleen, Annie and others discuss wallpaper BADDA 2298<br />
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seagulls, Amroth Beach, Wales<br />
leafing through a facsimile of Dr Johnson's Dictionary, Dr Johnson's House, London<br />
ink pen writing on parchment in Dr Johnson's attic, London<br />
Jasper purring, Wales<br />
dawn chorus, Llanteg, Wales<br />
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Links:<br />
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<a href="http://www.thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress">http://www.thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress</a><br />
<a href="http://modamuseum.blogspot.co.uk/">http://modamuseum.blogspot.co.uk/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/home">http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/home</a><br />
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<br />Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-19139493937259726022012-07-20T04:37:00.004-07:002012-07-20T04:37:43.733-07:00Soundcloud Mobile site vs. Full site?Continuing my exploration of QR codes, I have been experimenting with my own smartphone, and am slightly dissatisfied with the user-experience of accessing the full Soundcloud site. Here is the QR code - generated by <a href="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/" target="_blank">this site</a> - which links to the full website version of Soundcloud.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jtXsK6Id7uGF6tNN3JUuGQfg8KbppZ07XaCJLOGV8ye1ZEP6NW2BG3KM4ZiAGopeKtimnmVHetZTLsfyKxh2V9bFf1vd4c9TatZSDcO3Crj073HhXaimMcjOAl_jC8L_KkpECGxi4AQ/s1600/SW-1029.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jtXsK6Id7uGF6tNN3JUuGQfg8KbppZ07XaCJLOGV8ye1ZEP6NW2BG3KM4ZiAGopeKtimnmVHetZTLsfyKxh2V9bFf1vd4c9TatZSDcO3Crj073HhXaimMcjOAl_jC8L_KkpECGxi4AQ/s1600/SW-1029.png" /></a></div>
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Here's what happens on a HTC Hero when you scan in that barcode...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPn1_x69mm0pYv5XsvHlaeSqP6VlMJ5PnBYiTrZwSrU4S3Yx8PIE9ZWNL4w-85Czd2DJ0c6Yoh3-0YKJvO4PXNTy1hxwCPmtKSbYiqeAh1NPvknK70Ag4vBFY0QN3FreGpzMiTWczhuyo/s1600/scanning-code.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPn1_x69mm0pYv5XsvHlaeSqP6VlMJ5PnBYiTrZwSrU4S3Yx8PIE9ZWNL4w-85Czd2DJ0c6Yoh3-0YKJvO4PXNTy1hxwCPmtKSbYiqeAh1NPvknK70Ag4vBFY0QN3FreGpzMiTWczhuyo/s320/scanning-code.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here I am scanning the QR code with my mobile...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5n3pgb-nBs-3L6vuOWBXwUzOHzy6fVeOoJZUd0Z_8E0LCMkPah4wetruTK-efUxs_C6gffYHN-FHyg0BAXUDlr8YPwIgR4LDVi11QFltRbzL0dljFk0kPGlwkhJ2-FcP9lkhcqBdCOM/s1600/URL-found.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5n3pgb-nBs-3L6vuOWBXwUzOHzy6fVeOoJZUd0Z_8E0LCMkPah4wetruTK-efUxs_C6gffYHN-FHyg0BAXUDlr8YPwIgR4LDVi11QFltRbzL0dljFk0kPGlwkhJ2-FcP9lkhcqBdCOM/s320/URL-found.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here is my phone finding the correct URL...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_QmD2b4pBkdBCTh_F2e9vFo0AQTdFSIHeYPE2G3LThEqK-_tyW7dwEY5jU2zdfoxJ8ULiRNDesY1STuSGazXxdZ196reLQz0ge_4eAWvUEI_-wDJb320L74nhwJnhGb3080ZlZhAF9I/s1600/display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_QmD2b4pBkdBCTh_F2e9vFo0AQTdFSIHeYPE2G3LThEqK-_tyW7dwEY5jU2zdfoxJ8ULiRNDesY1STuSGazXxdZ196reLQz0ge_4eAWvUEI_-wDJb320L74nhwJnhGb3080ZlZhAF9I/s320/display.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then there is a very long wait while the file downloads (arduously) using mobile Internet rather than WiFi. (I am not using WiFi as I can't guarantee end users will always have access to WiFi when scanning the barcodes). I hunted around and discovered that Soundcloud also have a dedicated mobile site. I therefore created a short-URL (using bit.ly) and a QR code for the same piece of Sonic Wallpaper using the mobile site:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYLAp0Isw417ruGgW_uy1TRL93t4cJj-3b9XJO5dLrIZofX3AUl8S6JqIvGA56pBuUYmtUp8XKks719nGpIekQuGB90ovUa35HrXZfRljIx05F5ystFTxsyzJG65HXJeEo0ifo1kpUoI/s1600/SW-1029.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYLAp0Isw417ruGgW_uy1TRL93t4cJj-3b9XJO5dLrIZofX3AUl8S6JqIvGA56pBuUYmtUp8XKks719nGpIekQuGB90ovUa35HrXZfRljIx05F5ystFTxsyzJG65HXJeEo0ifo1kpUoI/s1600/SW-1029.png" /></a></div>
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...and then I watched this loading image for quite a long time; over 10 minutes; and no sign of the file playing or displaying correctly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7_0OaJEWBvB8RprA-hL5_l24ce3_eJaKz8Am6-ekE6IykgQ_YP_15ii1aUce68MGZBTtCZN-vCvKE1Qxd8APgQRwDwwebZYOeDeJdU6cqCEyDDGeVUgxEYl3u4ybyBxEbC2iYkIfC00/s1600/loading-page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7_0OaJEWBvB8RprA-hL5_l24ce3_eJaKz8Am6-ekE6IykgQ_YP_15ii1aUce68MGZBTtCZN-vCvKE1Qxd8APgQRwDwwebZYOeDeJdU6cqCEyDDGeVUgxEYl3u4ybyBxEbC2iYkIfC00/s320/loading-page.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I wonder why the link to the mobile site doesn't work so well when I try to access it with, ur, <i>my mobile</i>? Any tech assistance here would be greatly appreciated.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-70490199511586829632012-07-20T02:38:00.000-07:002012-07-20T02:38:47.143-07:00QR treasurehunt!As promised yesterday, here are further QR codes, which will hopefully take you directly to some of the Sonic Wallpaper Pieces. We want to know:
1. Was it easy to access the work via the QR codes?
2. What did you see/hear when you got there? (photos of phone displays especially welcome - please upload them via Twitter to @sonicwallpaper)
3. <i>Was it FUN?</i>
All/any feedback very gratefully received!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jtXsK6Id7uGF6tNN3JUuGQfg8KbppZ07XaCJLOGV8ye1ZEP6NW2BG3KM4ZiAGopeKtimnmVHetZTLsfyKxh2V9bFf1vd4c9TatZSDcO3Crj073HhXaimMcjOAl_jC8L_KkpECGxi4AQ/s1600/SW-1029.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jtXsK6Id7uGF6tNN3JUuGQfg8KbppZ07XaCJLOGV8ye1ZEP6NW2BG3KM4ZiAGopeKtimnmVHetZTLsfyKxh2V9bFf1vd4c9TatZSDcO3Crj073HhXaimMcjOAl_jC8L_KkpECGxi4AQ/s400/SW-1029.png" width="216" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bAwRX4n0j4FiVlFvq-garZZsgi9qxvRm6iapfG_FBicD40OrKz_ZKn3rJnOsD5lCaXYqhw2tgzcOBZLFwPaj7JpJVgeAGd4gdQ4Z6dA5535t6L72f9ITj_xVasnRXTUGDjmxlxjDcZ8/s1600/BADDA-2298.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5bAwRX4n0j4FiVlFvq-garZZsgi9qxvRm6iapfG_FBicD40OrKz_ZKn3rJnOsD5lCaXYqhw2tgzcOBZLFwPaj7JpJVgeAGd4gdQ4Z6dA5535t6L72f9ITj_xVasnRXTUGDjmxlxjDcZ8/s400/BADDA-2298.png" width="216" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zEg4h61SvNwQ20_Z-EyOhp1a3J20_4nGq-kZp3SIFG3qxGtfrRrq2O4J-IWYDfXzXUxOrCGOCo0fN-tfu6KOqImZ_VNnhH4ZJR8eMOV6mK1_1_7ZIuivTqRQ_JsUogO78OLqVFhhL28/s1600/BADDA-2301.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zEg4h61SvNwQ20_Z-EyOhp1a3J20_4nGq-kZp3SIFG3qxGtfrRrq2O4J-IWYDfXzXUxOrCGOCo0fN-tfu6KOqImZ_VNnhH4ZJR8eMOV6mK1_1_7ZIuivTqRQ_JsUogO78OLqVFhhL28/s400/BADDA-2301.png" width="216" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjGMyj7_OnnChodtWd3qMEcQpXwND_ZvEaV2HppjTzhd3gx0ykL_iLgVQi53fd_hiWKxcegnVUSX-O4yscdZHkGlSasW-bXNf_b0b59rxQ8w8FXQHro_Hg_D4tvj8Mu_PixxQRkSWcRM/s1600/BADDA-4855.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjGMyj7_OnnChodtWd3qMEcQpXwND_ZvEaV2HppjTzhd3gx0ykL_iLgVQi53fd_hiWKxcegnVUSX-O4yscdZHkGlSasW-bXNf_b0b59rxQ8w8FXQHro_Hg_D4tvj8Mu_PixxQRkSWcRM/s400/BADDA-4855.png" width="216" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBsZ05cNkd12I2AP5xdQ7qt8Q1Ftajunh1M5lZSJck7RLaBABn2uB8RNdwAamEP5JVjgtn-3O8o7ZO6Wxt_kUvQ5A8zJut_eyiMaHwF7Hw48HtTThpEc71WyZPHV_v4tiNOGlBNojCTM/s1600/BADDA-4380.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBsZ05cNkd12I2AP5xdQ7qt8Q1Ftajunh1M5lZSJck7RLaBABn2uB8RNdwAamEP5JVjgtn-3O8o7ZO6Wxt_kUvQ5A8zJut_eyiMaHwF7Hw48HtTThpEc71WyZPHV_v4tiNOGlBNojCTM/s400/BADDA-4380.png" width="216" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9F8WtNvbDhubq2iQn73dj1fyzCdFXUMZkogauZnTLVu6hmGXD2L88TUPxIhyF-q-i1I6wc6m3TSey7Q-3UPM74BUAgFAtJkomPbxi5z1SI1TVs0MLnU14ncZWhpQAgaUveOxGs26WIU/s1600/BADDA-4384.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9F8WtNvbDhubq2iQn73dj1fyzCdFXUMZkogauZnTLVu6hmGXD2L88TUPxIhyF-q-i1I6wc6m3TSey7Q-3UPM74BUAgFAtJkomPbxi5z1SI1TVs0MLnU14ncZWhpQAgaUveOxGs26WIU/s400/BADDA-4384.png" width="216" /></a>Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-47088496463661021552012-07-19T11:05:00.000-07:002012-07-19T12:41:57.640-07:00QR codes #1Things are very busy here in the Sonic Wallpapers Production Chamber i.e. my house, where much editing, recording and mixing is under way!
One of the things we are testing out currently is how well the QR codes are working. We are exploring where, online, the Sonic Wallpaper pieces should be uploaded. We want to know what the user-experience of scanning the QR codes and finding and hearing the sound pieces will be like for smart-phone users. We have a couple of options for storing the files; they can either be housed secretly in a folder somewhere on the shiny new <a href="http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/home">MoDA website</a> as mp3 files; on <a href="http://audioboo.fm/">Audioboo</a> as Audioboos; or on <a href="http://soundcloud.com/">Soundcloud</a>. Each of these sites offer different experiences for listeners/users and over the next couple of days we will be exploring different options here.
If you have a smartphone and some barcode-scanning software installed on it, would you mind scanning this code and leaving a comment to say what happened? Whether or not you heard Sonic Wallpaper as a result of scanning the code, and whether it was easy or difficult? This code was generated using the website <a href="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/">http://qrcode.kaywa.com/</a>.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaax7lx3kVW429R6bSEc8mkcKy1ghtMG3VYRtkLLyPs0wq-5VHZ8fPzSeZ_ytgHNx8wDKg1wSxz3hQ-clMWqRY7SDz3eIndpK93fsoVxHqsGlYpRayppsYs1glwpzaQo7s7tZxLhRs3gk/s1600/img.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="344" width="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaax7lx3kVW429R6bSEc8mkcKy1ghtMG3VYRtkLLyPs0wq-5VHZ8fPzSeZ_ytgHNx8wDKg1wSxz3hQ-clMWqRY7SDz3eIndpK93fsoVxHqsGlYpRayppsYs1glwpzaQo7s7tZxLhRs3gk/s400/img.png" /></a></div>
ETA: <a href="http://2d-code.co.uk/">Roger Smolski</a> - who helpfully checked out the QR code above - helpfully contacted me via Twitter, to explain that <a href="http://2d-code.co.uk/goo-gl-versus-bit-ly-qr-code/">using bit.ly or a similar URL shortener would reduce the complexity of the QR code</a>. I therefore reduced the length of the URL for the Sonic Wallpaper piece currently hosted on Audioboo, with the following result:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsImyC-JWoikZuvmSE05LsKipRJmXxJa8TJwcDxssaBJRX7q4_NPVTPACUGIevUHcHvcMJP4DQ0AM8gDJqUcIekEp_LI-d4VsLgkAlt2PxFxNlz_OK8CaxXsf70zV8szviuP5w7zer1-8/s1600/img+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="216" width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsImyC-JWoikZuvmSE05LsKipRJmXxJa8TJwcDxssaBJRX7q4_NPVTPACUGIevUHcHvcMJP4DQ0AM8gDJqUcIekEp_LI-d4VsLgkAlt2PxFxNlz_OK8CaxXsf70zV8szviuP5w7zer1-8/s400/img+%25281%2529.png" /></a></div>
Easier to see? To scan? Does it make any difference at all? And how does the Audioboo interface display on your smartphone?Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-25962535915518056272012-07-03T06:37:00.003-07:002012-07-03T06:40:37.498-07:00An Indian Restaurant, fuzzy felt, and candlelight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAx0jC-WQtxcH-R2bhSYPW1BPoVpx48c6GZaaKG5Sl4sCLBSCdjTSo6X3V6ymp8z5EpH7aIHq5LI3tu-lm7RRxgS1s1fRFNfhp-RGkppgpQPTXQZw0JaPaVEaRvp0wnJO7mpfwC8Y71E/s1600/BADDA2301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAx0jC-WQtxcH-R2bhSYPW1BPoVpx48c6GZaaKG5Sl4sCLBSCdjTSo6X3V6ymp8z5EpH7aIHq5LI3tu-lm7RRxgS1s1fRFNfhp-RGkppgpQPTXQZw0JaPaVEaRvp0wnJO7mpfwC8Y71E/s1600/BADDA2301.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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BADDA 2301 image © MoDA Museum
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This is one of the designs in the <a href="http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/collections/wallpapers">MoDA Museum Wallpaper collection</a> which has been used for the Sonic Wallpaper Project. When I showed it to people, I got pretty mixed reactions, ranging from "I have negative connotations with flock wallpaper and the 1970s" right through to "it's opulent; I'd like to have it in a boudoir".
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The texture of the paper got people talking about the suggestive, sensory qualities of the paper, and reminded people of fuzzy felt. A couple of people also felt that it reminded them of an Indian restaurant. Too, there was some intrigue surrounding the mechanics of how a wallpaper like this is made. I wanted to build up a sonic palette which would reflect all of these ideas - warmth, opulence, sensuality, a lot of different tactile experiences - and so <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/listening-at-cole-sons.html" target="_blank">I recorded sounds which concern the manufacture of wallpaper at Cole & Sons Wallpaper Factory</a>, and a selection of domestic and local sounds, including frying onions, popping mustard seeds, and the ambient sounds at my local Indian restaurant.
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The most exciting things for me in the finished piece are the moments when certain ideas cross-pollinate. My favourite example of this is when the sizzling sound of mustard-seeds popping and pinging inside a saucepan correlate with a bit of interview where the idea of the gold in the wallpaper looking good against candlelight is being discussed. There is something in the combination of heat, shimmering, sparkling, sizzling, warmth, etc. which work well for me in that moment... the pinging sound of mustard seeds exploding inside a steel pan seem glittery to my ears, and this works with the idea of gilt or a gilded surface... what do you think?<br />
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When I started out on this project, I found myself thinking a lot about how design often involves "moodboards". Sonically speaking, this project has moodboards too, and as well as the sounds I've recorded for the project, each piece has a certain atmosphere associated with it, which I've tried to find the appropriate sounds to reflect. With BADDA 2301 there is something extremely exuberant and also a bit love/hate in the way people view the design; I wanted the sounds to be similarly attractive/repellent, and also very playful and fun. TheVelcro sound is I think the hardest of the different sounds to listen to, but hopefully other sounds like the wind in the chimney and the fire crackling at the end, are more attractive to listeners.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The original wallpaper design is very dense; there's a lot going on, and so the audio is correspondingly "busy". My hope is that between all the words and sounds, there are plenty of suggestions to help you imagine this wallpaper in different scenarios and spaces!</span><br />
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Sounds recorded: mustard seeds popping, onions frying, Velcro sticking and un-sticking, fuzzy felt, wallpaper printing machinery at <a href="http://www.cole-and-son.com/">Cole & Sons</a> wallpaper factory, sounds at local Indian restaurant, fire in the living room fireplace<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F51645979&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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There is also <a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/871390-fuzzy-felt-and-sizzling-spices">an excerpt of this piece on Audioboo</a>.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-84929539349026743682012-07-02T07:52:00.002-07:002012-07-02T07:58:05.791-07:00A Writing Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm5M2k0x74leYoHKk5z2dDqgB00Nw8Y33fPteZPyKXKJIWMNTTjo5oQOj6luYCC80E3mdbejlJbBNSpufNg2IWv157nQqaGoQaqsjStCJ3ztyvjM1oNSMI4TLhCC6CZmUzQGVLXfGZRw/s1600/SW1029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm5M2k0x74leYoHKk5z2dDqgB00Nw8Y33fPteZPyKXKJIWMNTTjo5oQOj6luYCC80E3mdbejlJbBNSpufNg2IWv157nQqaGoQaqsjStCJ3ztyvjM1oNSMI4TLhCC6CZmUzQGVLXfGZRw/s400/SW1029.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
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SW 1029 image © MoDA Museum<br />
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This is one of the designs in the <a href="http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/collections/wallpapers">MoDA Museum Wallpaper collection</a> which has been used for the Sonic Wallpaper Project.
When I showed this paper to one of the interviewees involved in this project - Joceline - it evoked for her a domestic fantasy involving an ideal writing room, tucked away in the eaves of a house somewhere, and free of the electrical buzzes of modernity.<br />
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To build an appropriate sound piece out of this idea, I organised all the interview material that I had concerning this design, arranged a selection of the comments that people made about this sample of wallpaper, and sought for a recording site containing a lot of creaky wood, an absence of computers and air-conditioning, and with old casement windows.
Dr Johnson compiled a dictionary in <a href="http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/">just such a space</a>, and the attic of his 18th century London town house was where I went to record many of the sounds used in the Sonic Wallpaper created to accompany this design, as you may remember from <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/listening-to-dr-johnsons-house.html">this post</a>.<br />
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In working on the accompanying sound piece, I wanted to leave space for some of the really quiet and gentle sounds - birdsong; the sound of pens and ink on parchment; the purring of a cat - to be really <i>heard</i>. The study room at MoDA is full of the humming of air-conditioning and computers, and so I wanted to give a little bit of space at the end of the interviews (which are all full of the soundscape of MoDA) for the acoustic fantasy evoked by the wallpaper to <i>breathe</i>.<br />
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The effect is of a sort of emptying out of sounds; after the ideas and the words have all been introduced, the piece is overtaken by the calm world of this ideal writing attic - a space imagined completely in response to SW 1029 in the MoDA Wallpaper collection.<br />
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Sounds recorded: creaking wood, scribbling pen, parchment, tea cups, kettle, paper, cat<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F51542384&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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There is also <a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/870165-a-writing-room">an excerpt of this piece on Audioboo</a>.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-19973082273555370752012-07-02T02:57:00.001-07:002012-07-02T03:42:40.791-07:00Estonian Sonic WallpapersDespite the lack of writing on here, plenty has been happening on the Sonic Wallpaper Project!
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I was <a href="http://thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress/?p=4001">in Estonia for the month of May</a>, where I saw this wallpaper.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipokrQQJy2ZEurXsfs9dwUz2DjAqF3AZBbwh5TH11uE_t39OobNz6brvlZ_hKQ2WJWqURnenPlApYrBPlmLOnWQCDTZwyOLUkaeTVRCTi3_mlOhMX28yjqLWxDYWcanPu4Lo6CQHr1ffQ/s1600/wallpaper3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipokrQQJy2ZEurXsfs9dwUz2DjAqF3AZBbwh5TH11uE_t39OobNz6brvlZ_hKQ2WJWqURnenPlApYrBPlmLOnWQCDTZwyOLUkaeTVRCTi3_mlOhMX28yjqLWxDYWcanPu4Lo6CQHr1ffQ/s400/wallpaper3.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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This design was on the walls of Tuuli's parents' house, in Võru, and dates from the Soviet times. I love how the sheets are not matched up at all, and I also love the colours, and the rural idyll suggested by the imagery. It reminds me of some of the earlier papers in the MoDA collection.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZIIybsC8lrAQAk_kRzPgpWnUxRkgHNMylrk80cYP0TMxqHhVbnFkhsEFwmRaY4Nw-YwKFjCjoodzJVPqSH6Azq3c4kBMgk34jewaa0soKw0Z6NWzeUyft-savDRfmFbbJVxdy0RPS-U/s1600/wallpaper2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZIIybsC8lrAQAk_kRzPgpWnUxRkgHNMylrk80cYP0TMxqHhVbnFkhsEFwmRaY4Nw-YwKFjCjoodzJVPqSH6Azq3c4kBMgk34jewaa0soKw0Z6NWzeUyft-savDRfmFbbJVxdy0RPS-U/s400/wallpaper2.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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Here are some of the sounds in the room where this wallpaper was hung:
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F51521373&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F51523401&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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...would you have looked at that wallpaper and imagined looms and pianos? Or something else?
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Since I have been home, I have been playing catch-up with all my projects. This has included lots of <a href="http://thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress/?p=4359">domestic audio recording for Sonic Wallpaper</a>, and writing commentaries about all the pieces for our forthcoming Sonic Wallpaper book.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-19737239700567866432012-04-23T08:49:00.001-07:002012-04-23T08:49:29.729-07:00Mixing the sounds for BADDA 4386I am now at the point of mixing the sounds and the interviews in order to produce <i>Sonic Wallpapers</i>.
Today I am working on the design that inspired the recordings in the BDA Museum, and some of the recordings in Barnet Museum. The accession number for this wallpaper is BADDA 4386. I'd be really interested to hear what you think the design looks like, based on the sounds...<br />
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...based on what people said about BADDA 4386, the sounds of pearls and vintage dental instruments have been recorded and layered to create a specific kind of sonic texture. I have mixed down one minute of sections purely comprised of sounds, so that you can hear the field-recordings mixed together without the words. You'll notice a kind of low-level hum which fades in and out of the other sounds; this hum is the sound in MoDA's study room, and is comprised I think of air-conditioning, electronic circuitry, and computing equipment. If I do not use this sound as a texture beneath the interviews, there is a very hard sound as the recordings of people speaking enter and leave the mix...<br />
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...this little section of background noise acts like a kind of sticky plaster, which can be used to match the joins between pure field-recordings and people speaking in a room which is not completely silent.
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768286-badda-4854-just-the-sounds/embed">
<a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768286-badda-4854-just-the-sounds">listen to ‘BADDA 4854 - just the sounds’ on Audioboo</a></div>
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Because the inherent soundscape of MoDA is both noisy and quite bassy, and because all of the imaginative associations with this wallpaper were contrastingly light and delicate, I did some things that I do not normally do; I processed the interviews to try and remove some of the background noise; I added a very tiny quantity of artifical reverb to evoke the sense of being in a shinier space (like the one referred to by interviewees in the discussions about this design); and I used the graphic equalising tool in Adobe Audition to very slightly accentuate the higher frequencies. The decision to process the sounds in this way was led by my not being very happy with the relationship between the delicate associations and imagery evoked by the interviewees, and the monotonous bassy traces of the MoDA study room in the final audio. I hope I have not processed the sounds into feeling too alien, and that the acoustics of MoDA and the natural voices of interviewees remain. Have a listen to this first example, and let me know what you think about the effects of the processing on the piece overall; I'd love any feedback on the work I have done here.
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768303-badda-4854-first-edition/embed">
<a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768303-badda-4854-first-edition">listen to ‘BADDA 4854 - first edition’ on Audioboo</a></div>
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<script type="text/javascript">
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I also produced a second version of this Sonic Wallpaper design, in which the field-recordings have been layered slightly more densely, so that the references - to pearls, to antiquity, to time, to the dentist, to teeth - are emphasised. Can you hear the differences between the two recordings, and which one do you prefer? To my ears, the encoding process which Audioboo uses has given the files a slightly lossy, mp3-esque nastiness, but other than that I am quite happy with the results.
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768315-badda-4854-second-edition/embed">
<a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/768315-badda-4854-second-edition">listen to ‘BADDA 4854 - second edition’ on Audioboo</a></div>
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<script type="text/javascript">
(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();
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If you leave a comment, would you mind noting what you are listening through - i.e. studio monitors, headphones, (what make?!) PC speakers, laptop speakers etc.
Thank You for listening, and stay tuned for forthcoming Sonic Wallpapers!Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-52818188255784775472012-04-18T07:42:00.010-07:002012-04-18T10:30:22.444-07:00Listening at the Aquatic Design CentreAs well as recording in the Aquarium at the Horniman Museum, I decided that I wanted to record some more domestic sounds - i.e. the sound of the kinds of aquariums one might have at home - to link with the fish-themed wallpaper which I mentioned <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/listening-underwater.html">in this post</a>. The <a href="http://www.aquaticdesign.co.uk/">Aquatic Design Centre</a> folks were extremely accommodating and kindly allowed me to stick hydrophones into their tanks, and to tinker in their amazing, watery, Aladdin's Cave of aquariums for a few hours recording <span style="font-style:italic;">sounds</span>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3cJJEk3Pdpsb7TY2MoFYfwNRzdSHCj5xmXdTsXJOJuKLFsFG4cKQ3z2H8Oo7JryFQqWhtWlx2QXG4i3PuivWEZGHnsiSOIcnCpAfapKZ5LoMKMiv881KOMOOSM2opnPDDSg2gOxRLRo/s1600/fishtanks.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3cJJEk3Pdpsb7TY2MoFYfwNRzdSHCj5xmXdTsXJOJuKLFsFG4cKQ3z2H8Oo7JryFQqWhtWlx2QXG4i3PuivWEZGHnsiSOIcnCpAfapKZ5LoMKMiv881KOMOOSM2opnPDDSg2gOxRLRo/s400/fishtanks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732772992763573394" /></a><br /><br />I found it slightly harder to record in the Aquatic Design Centre than in the Horniman Museum, because the fish tanks are much smaller, and the C-series hydrophones are designed to float rather than sink in the water. Nonetheless, I managed to get the hydrophones submerged enough to hear a large variety of burbling filtration systems and tiny, <span style="font-style:italic;">tiny</span> fish sounds.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761640-tiny-fish-sounds/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761640-tiny-fish-sounds">listen to ‘Tiny fish sounds’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmIpQidcduijytyLaMtKvfowC2tJhaXsROB3dpkJGAuieAtem3yA6E0VHUfvBBW4ST09F9G5RI1Uo9PzOaJx6lr5OTnkKjoiUR6r9yrfucoBgjjJUnTkDc4P-bhTxdR7N41L7cucHJKo/s1600/red-white-fish.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmIpQidcduijytyLaMtKvfowC2tJhaXsROB3dpkJGAuieAtem3yA6E0VHUfvBBW4ST09F9G5RI1Uo9PzOaJx6lr5OTnkKjoiUR6r9yrfucoBgjjJUnTkDc4P-bhTxdR7N41L7cucHJKo/s400/red-white-fish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732791399051495314" /></a><br /><br />The highlight of the visit for me was watching the clownfish. Clownfish are protected from predators in the ocean by the stinging tentacles of the anemone, and in one of the tanks at the Aquatic Design Centre, two little black and white clownfish took it in turns to rub themselves <span style="font-style:italic;">all over</span> an anemone. I fancied I could hear the tiny sounds of this action within the recording, but there is a lot of environmental noise which makes it difficult to hear for certain.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqjKpieDxqIROMLwk4bRz6W3mT6xK_I7q3K6LYVbyu9Vv_BQIM4BS6Al9BRVnwx5Hslg3QhZWr9o2SPMAYkY5BucWdPCa9sagiXMitXFgaJWuWVZM1ldLtyAxhBtFrCVdb5eBn0OLoAg/s1600/clownfish-anemone1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqjKpieDxqIROMLwk4bRz6W3mT6xK_I7q3K6LYVbyu9Vv_BQIM4BS6Al9BRVnwx5Hslg3QhZWr9o2SPMAYkY5BucWdPCa9sagiXMitXFgaJWuWVZM1ldLtyAxhBtFrCVdb5eBn0OLoAg/s400/clownfish-anemone1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732758375934248018" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDv2ZZZgk7yuaYghFrQBgb4Cenz33x54KUiRc1LSWr5FXSee8VEcFexyLvUQt1iSh-SNURFybi1BkRIxph2o_YTqLg7g61UQ-0qLOLZ7-wV5Wj73ykar01uHW6TPqDSIakq63QhIxPQo/s1600/clownfish-anemone2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDv2ZZZgk7yuaYghFrQBgb4Cenz33x54KUiRc1LSWr5FXSee8VEcFexyLvUQt1iSh-SNURFybi1BkRIxph2o_YTqLg7g61UQ-0qLOLZ7-wV5Wj73ykar01uHW6TPqDSIakq63QhIxPQo/s400/clownfish-anemone2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732758711627755314" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuiD1bDWdV1G2XO5ky41e3fNUa-x0rtSeWHmpVpuiYN7jMCfVtv_zA7vxTTE7600h-pf8yxLJXQEoiYl8CbBrkH3Zh5PcDGAQlwpkLSloCXTca5bQf06MIkj_cmLnrZeJRkhzCjgxNuI/s1600/clownfish-anemone3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 344px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuiD1bDWdV1G2XO5ky41e3fNUa-x0rtSeWHmpVpuiYN7jMCfVtv_zA7vxTTE7600h-pf8yxLJXQEoiYl8CbBrkH3Zh5PcDGAQlwpkLSloCXTca5bQf06MIkj_cmLnrZeJRkhzCjgxNuI/s400/clownfish-anemone3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732758818286487362" /></a><br /><br />As one of the hydrophones picked up a lot of noise from the air and the surrounding shop, I stripped the sound of it from the recording, and so this is a mono-recording from the one hydrophone that I could get closest to the clown fish. I think there are some nice delicate sounds in this recording, although I am surprised by how much noise from the shop can be heard underwater in this fish tank.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761501-clownfish-tank-at-the-aquatic-design-centre/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761501-clownfish-tank-at-the-aquatic-design-centre">listen to ‘Clownfish tank at the Aquatic Design Centre’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Here is another recording I think also of the clownfish, but this time with a pair of hydrophones and less background chatter!<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761543-clownfish-tank-at-the-aquatic-design-centre-with-two-hydrophones/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761543-clownfish-tank-at-the-aquatic-design-centre-with-two-hydrophones">listen to ‘Clownfish tank at the Aquatic Design Centre - with two hydrophones’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />If you are ever near Great Portland Street, I can thoroughly recommend going to the design centre to see all the amazing fish and to listen to all the watery sounds. Is it just me, or is there something just <span style="font-style:italic;">lovely</span> about watching fish moving around in the water?<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761622-burbling-water-sounds/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761622-burbling-water-sounds">listen to ‘Burbling water sounds ’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KgdQYVf3vFmBk2Pq4uaLQFHSW39IZYtckWCdxYdC4pwFNgIFox9rXIdHg0ARlrWTdL-aocncxJ7ZHy5cmSGulsGEl5Zxj9RPPjpWvL2Pg_5kfqV0akCG9-kbUyB7Q0jQRN665WxEyRs/s1600/neon-tetras.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KgdQYVf3vFmBk2Pq4uaLQFHSW39IZYtckWCdxYdC4pwFNgIFox9rXIdHg0ARlrWTdL-aocncxJ7ZHy5cmSGulsGEl5Zxj9RPPjpWvL2Pg_5kfqV0akCG9-kbUyB7Q0jQRN665WxEyRs/s400/neon-tetras.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732790548907369858" /></a><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761638-squeaky-fishtank/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761638-squeaky-fishtank">listen to ‘Squeaky fishtank’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWEX1sLf5AeKFBQ7c5raXod_e6OSNEL-w0PxlNk4axx7463vsAaVPkq-gAVQP1UaFCcRn1v1JZ0KfD0yiJjsJuGH_YghzGy9EOKLjgZmOg5Vt3sAGn5hSof0GZW49zSHhNJXkoyoxFlk/s1600/orange-fishy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWEX1sLf5AeKFBQ7c5raXod_e6OSNEL-w0PxlNk4axx7463vsAaVPkq-gAVQP1UaFCcRn1v1JZ0KfD0yiJjsJuGH_YghzGy9EOKLjgZmOg5Vt3sAGn5hSof0GZW49zSHhNJXkoyoxFlk/s400/orange-fishy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732790930073688466" /></a><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761643-watery-sounds/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761643-watery-sounds">listen to ‘Watery sounds’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script>Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-12718004785657154662012-04-18T03:41:00.010-07:002012-04-18T07:20:52.094-07:00Listening underwaterOne of the wallpapers which featured in the Sonic Wallpaper interviews has <span style="font-style:italic;">fish</span> on it. These are some of the things people said about the wallpaper design:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">Fishes!<br /><br />It’s very sweet… they look like they’re having a good time.<br /><br />Bathroom. It’s in the bathroom, definitely. I know it’s difficult to put wallpaper in a bathroom, but it would look great. <br /><br />I really feel… whenever I look at it, I would be very happy. The fish just have such funny little expressions on their faces; they almost look human - like they’re talking to each other and telling each other stories. And it’s just so vibrant as well, with the weeds in the background being very abstract and sort of splattered all over the place… you can just imagine them swimming around, darting around and playing with each other.<br /><br />That is such fun. And the detail! I love the colours… I just think that is so playful. I would love that in a bathroom. Or a cloakroom.<br /><br />Do you think they’re mackerel? I think they’re mackerel or sardines.<br /><br />I think it would be really funny to have it in your living room, because it would be like having a huge aquarium. Even though the fish don’t move.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Listening through to these interviews, I felt that one recording required for a Sonic Wallpaper piece to accompany this paper must be <span style="font-style:italic;">the sounds of fish</span>. Where better to start with recording the sounds of fish than in the Horniman Museum, lowering hydrophones down into <a href="http://www.horniman.ac.uk/visit/displays/display/aquarium/display-chapter/explore-our-aquarium">the amazing aquarium tanks there</a>, in order to listen underwater?<br /><br />I had always assumed or imagined that you would be able to hear fish moving underwater, but I was completely wrong in this assumption, because fish are in fact very <span style="font-style:italic;">quiet</span>. Luckily, Jamie Craggs - who is the curator for the Horniman Museum Aquarium - knows more about fish sounds than I do, and he was able to point me in the right direction re: listening underwater. He explained to me that the noisiest two tanks would probably be the Fijan Reef tank and the British Shore tank. There are different varieties of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrasse">wrasse</a> in both of these tanks, which make a clicking sound with their jaws. <br /><br />For making my recordings, I used a pair of <a href="http://hydrophones.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/c-series-pro-hydrophones-new-addition.html">JrF C-series hydrophones</a> with a FOSTEX FR-2LE.<br /><br />The first recording was made in the Fijan Reef tank. There are some very tiny blips and blops which you can hear; I am not completely clear whether these sounds are produced by the fish, or by the filtration system which manages the conditions inside the tank. I think it is most likely that when the fish were fed, the food landing on the surface of the water produced these nice, watery sounds.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761106-blips-and-blops-in-the-fijan-reef-tank-at-the-horniman-musem/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761106-blips-and-blops-in-the-fijan-reef-tank-at-the-horniman-musem">listen to ‘Blips and Blops in the Fijan Reef tank at the Horniman Musem’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbGnhj-70saGhV8VLVW869Ck7BO0UVQzNm6-QdjX_AZVKf8eWCVF3k2s_E1ldIf8FLrpGZDLohAYG8hMOLClnOWebI5pkCa1MG8_ZCUNiAr9XxS5nQ5DgtfCVqoAFmh7QVJVVJNz25Lg/s1600/fijan-reef.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbGnhj-70saGhV8VLVW869Ck7BO0UVQzNm6-QdjX_AZVKf8eWCVF3k2s_E1ldIf8FLrpGZDLohAYG8hMOLClnOWebI5pkCa1MG8_ZCUNiAr9XxS5nQ5DgtfCVqoAFmh7QVJVVJNz25Lg/s400/fijan-reef.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732724120041579122" /></a><br /><br />The sounds of wrasse clicking are very subtle, but I think that is what you can hear in this recording, which was created in the British Shore tank. This tank contains Goldsinny wrasse and Cuckoo wrasse, and the fish below, which I have been unable to identify! <br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761140-wrasse-clicking-in-the-british-shore-tank/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761140-wrasse-clicking-in-the-british-shore-tank">listen to ‘Wrasse clicking in the British Shore tank’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL39pYucXGdZRSVLAVF6pId5DUhtze3Ig3CeaR8NebwxqgTcyTiCtJNo1qWZD41qUWQyyG8BOPaMRGOM8irflRn6qKsDjn7gFff9RTL9gu9i6KkNyhJW3MgZK7ZcyLjhoNYKE06FZW34M/s1600/fish.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL39pYucXGdZRSVLAVF6pId5DUhtze3Ig3CeaR8NebwxqgTcyTiCtJNo1qWZD41qUWQyyG8BOPaMRGOM8irflRn6qKsDjn7gFff9RTL9gu9i6KkNyhJW3MgZK7ZcyLjhoNYKE06FZW34M/s400/fish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732730822257515282" /></a><br /><br />I also noticed whilst at the Horniman Museum, that there was an extremely fine lobster in one of the tanks. Apparently she has just moulted - hence the amazing, pale blue colour of her body in this photo.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdHIgareu0uhY0jPaHPTLrJPcu1WvCorgzztc-W_Hx-s7z4nNL6QX-hoym57jH8ohNxYIH9ZXKhmWnOExNQkX6NZjjdP1haCT5BmtqKg1Wqhr7_J3C9VCgHBauREqUsDLpyOQN9Yp9qE/s1600/lobster.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdHIgareu0uhY0jPaHPTLrJPcu1WvCorgzztc-W_Hx-s7z4nNL6QX-hoym57jH8ohNxYIH9ZXKhmWnOExNQkX6NZjjdP1haCT5BmtqKg1Wqhr7_J3C9VCgHBauREqUsDLpyOQN9Yp9qE/s400/lobster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732731403396095762" /></a><br /><br />I had to put my hydrophones into the tank with her, just to see if it was possible to hear anything, but in spite of her formidable pincers (she did look at one stage a little bit too interested in the hydrophones) she was very quiet and most of what you can hear in this recording is just the burblings of the water filtration system, and the water feature which simulates the tide rushing in and out of a rockpool in the tank.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761176-lobster-tank/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761176-lobster-tank">listen to ‘Lobster tank’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Finally, I just left the hydrophones inside the Fijan Reef tank for a while, to see what could be heard if the fish were undisturbed for a long period of time. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98rJOEZYgqF69YkfX9eU9Fkc46Plj_e69ZPDfajhKJ_6V5vfCweDhK9QLI6D2v1NsOXMnKCOHQpj_47MW3zlwAEMtSIXlYpPYehqwDuH3av3dKZajvc6aixR-9g5x7oYLHBfkvKoXdpM/s1600/fijan-reef3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98rJOEZYgqF69YkfX9eU9Fkc46Plj_e69ZPDfajhKJ_6V5vfCweDhK9QLI6D2v1NsOXMnKCOHQpj_47MW3zlwAEMtSIXlYpPYehqwDuH3av3dKZajvc6aixR-9g5x7oYLHBfkvKoXdpM/s400/fijan-reef3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732743189717184914" /></a><br /><br />I discern some tiny blips and pops in this recording, which I think might be created by the fish in that tank; what do <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span> hear?<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761249-listening-at-the-fijan-reef-tank-in-the-horniman-museum/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/761249-listening-at-the-fijan-reef-tank-in-the-horniman-museum">listen to ‘Listening at the Fijan Reef tank in the Horniman Museum’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Thanks to the Horniman Museum for all the help with recording these aquatic sounds!Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-86245379746572510722012-03-29T04:27:00.006-07:002012-03-29T06:27:01.083-07:00Listening at Barnet Museum<a href="http://barnetmuseum.co.uk/">Barnet Museum</a> is a treasure trove of artefacts detailing local life in Barnet. It was opened in March 1938 at 31 Wood Street to house the collection of the Barnet & District Local History Society, and is situated in a wonderfully creaky old Georgian building. From the moment you enter through it's squeaky front door, you feel you are stepping back in time.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733452-creaking-door-at-barnet-museum/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733452-creaking-door-at-barnet-museum">listen to ‘Creaking door at Barnet Museum’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Many of the objects in the collection are domestic, and looking through them is rather like looking at some of the MoDA wallpapers in that they are simultaneously very <span style="font-style:italic;">ordinary</span>, yet also nostalgic and evocative. One senses the presence of past lives and modest dreams in this collection of fashions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; glittering costume jewellery from the middle of the last century; old cooking implements; military wares; food packets; spinning wheels and arcane technologies...<br /><br />...Best of all from my point of view, Barnet Museum is full of amazing <span style="font-style:italic;">sounds</span>. <br /><br />Even the <span style="font-style:italic;">silence</span> in Barnet Museum feels old, because of the way that the passing traffic very gently rattles the glass in the window-panes, and because of the quiet yet persistent sound of the ticking Grandfather clock which presides over the first room that you enter.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733422-a-distinctive-sort-of-silence/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733422-a-distinctive-sort-of-silence">listen to ‘A distinctive sort of silence’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />...the clock has a beautiful chime, captured perfectly here by a contact microphone attached to its outer case.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733439-chiming-grandfather-clock-at-barnet-museum/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733439-chiming-grandfather-clock-at-barnet-museum">listen to ‘Chiming Grandfather clock at Barnet Museum’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />I was interested in finding something which would help me to embellish a comment one interviewee made about a wallpaper reminding them of <span style="font-style:italic;">maths</span>, and Mike Jordan - the chairman at Barnet Museum - was able to provide me with an amazing, vintage calculator which makes some wonderfully clunky, mathematical sounds. These kinds of calculators were apparently in production between from the 1930s into the 1960s; can you imagine how it must have sounded in buildings where a lot of calculations had to be made? I created two recordings of the vintage calculator; one using a contact microphone and one using a stereo shotgun microphone. It is quite interesting to compare the two; to my ears the contact microphone recording sounds far more mechanistic, whereas the stereo shotgun microphone recording contains more atmosphere and more of a sense of a human being operating the technology. What do you think? Does it sound like maths to you? <br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733435-1930s-calculator/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733435-1930s-calculator">listen to ‘1930s calculator’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733475-1930s-calculator-recorded-with-contact-microphone/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733475-1930s-calculator-recorded-with-contact-microphone">listen to ‘1930s calculator recorded with contact microphone’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVYT6nqUZVP8U4vaGKEuKM_HAVhKBre1fYZj34KdeIb57wQMLH0GJ8NVjnCJudqhrud0GrQZ9PoKyktsbevlMKNzakQCcUsaFmhO30vPgaZL-_b20PD2iudtIAifqjUS4jzzmeDzFLuc/s1600/adding-machine.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVYT6nqUZVP8U4vaGKEuKM_HAVhKBre1fYZj34KdeIb57wQMLH0GJ8NVjnCJudqhrud0GrQZ9PoKyktsbevlMKNzakQCcUsaFmhO30vPgaZL-_b20PD2iudtIAifqjUS4jzzmeDzFLuc/s400/adding-machine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725292295036604642" /></a><br /><br />Vintage Calculator in the collection at Barnet Museum, photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Barnet Museum<br /><br />The other thing which I really wanted to record in the Barnet Museum collection, is the specific sound of pearls gliding one over the other inside a jewellery box, as the idea of an older lady sorting through her costume jewellery was one of the fantasies inspired by looking at MoDA's wallpaper collection during the interview stage of this project. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l2JYMc5RLBYGYiqq-jWpV57xv2o34T99sh_SxBo9sifRinBCbb2i_Spf5A7jFCvpl2Qp5ZgQ8F3u3oY8lcMC6nFe2RT2VgfWs4obFPZfwjFF0kJ_0SX6ftCYmctEX_xTdbkMbBJGymI/s1600/pearls.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l2JYMc5RLBYGYiqq-jWpV57xv2o34T99sh_SxBo9sifRinBCbb2i_Spf5A7jFCvpl2Qp5ZgQ8F3u3oY8lcMC6nFe2RT2VgfWs4obFPZfwjFF0kJ_0SX6ftCYmctEX_xTdbkMbBJGymI/s400/pearls.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725299793036510002" /></a><br /><br />Costume Jewellery in the collection at Barnet Museum, photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Barnet Museum<br /><br />Again, I tried recording the specific texture of pearls and costume jewellery using a contact microphone and a shotgun stereo microphone, because I think that both of these approaches yield different results re: the sonic qualities of pearls.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733496-pearls-recorded-with-a-contact-microphone/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733496-pearls-recorded-with-a-contact-microphone">listen to ‘Pearls recorded with a contact microphone’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733573-pearls-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/733573-pearls-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone">listen to ‘Pearls recorded with a stereo shotgun microphone’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Many thanks to all at the Barnet Museum for helping me to assemble this creaky, shiny, squeaky old collection of recordings, and for showing me the wonderful treasure trove of local history in your Museum.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-71947164491816533882012-03-26T04:17:00.010-07:002012-03-27T00:27:57.907-07:00Listening at the Handweaver's StudioOne of the things which folk mentioned several times in relation to the MoDA wallpapers used throughout this project was <span style="font-style:italic;">weaving</span>.<br /><br />Weaving came up in the Sonic Wallpaper interviews both in a fantastical sense - "if I had that wallpaper in a room, I'd want to use the room for weaving" - and in relation to the textures of some of the wallpaper samples - "that looks woven". <br /><br />Given that walls were hung with woollen coverings and then tapestries long before the invention of wallpaper, plus these references to weaving in the interviews I conducted, it seemed utterly appropriate to record the sounds of weaving for this project.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728776-table-loom-at-the-handweaver-s-studio/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728776-table-loom-at-the-handweaver-s-studio">listen to ‘Table loom at The Handweaver's Studio’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />This is a recording made at <a href="http://www.handweavers.co.uk/">The Handweaver's Studio</a> in London, where Wendy Morris kindly agreed to demonstrate the sounds of some of the looms for me. This recording was created using a contact microphone, attached to a small table loom in the studio.<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I find the repetitive nature of weaving to be somehow analogous with the visual repetition inherent in wallpaper designs... there is something about the way one's eye travels over a wallpaper pattern searching to understand a pattern-repeat which can be maddening and pleasing at once. I associate this sensation also with repetitive sounds such as clocks, looms, spinning wheels, and even knitting (although knitting is extremely quiet). The more complex the repetition is in a visual design, the more absorbing the process of unpicking its intricacies, and so it is with sound - at least to my ears. <br /><br />I have recorded looms previously, and was specifically interested in capturing quite a detailed sound for the purposes of one particular Sonic Wallpaper design. I wanted something with a lot of wood in the sound (a warmth which you don't get with cast iron or steel); with the detail of many different moving parts, but perhaps without the din of a large, industrial mill (though I am coveting such a sound for another Sonic Wallpaper design); and with the handmade rhythm of a skilled weaver at work, rather than with the mechanised rhythms of a machine churning out cloth at a perfectly engineered, precise tempo. <br /><br />You may remember that I spoke in <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/listening-at-cole-sons.html">my post about Cole & Sons</a> of the <span style="font-style:italic;">timing</span> of the printer as he registered each section of a screen-printed wallpaper design? To my mind the sounds of artisans at work possess an even, practised, rhythmic quality, (printing a piece of wallpaper; weaving a piece of cloth) yet those same sounds also bear traces of the human body. You can hear when the movements of a maker's arms and legs become fatigued, or when a pause in the maker's thought-process temporarily stills the movements of making. <br /><br />In some of the older wallpapers in the MoDA collection, the physical traces of hand-making can also be <span style="font-style:italic;">seen</span>. Hand-printed sheets sometimes do not match the precision of machine-applied ink for evenness of coating, as may be seen in these close-ups of a wallpaper designed by Edward Bawden and colour-printed from lino blocks by Cole & Son in the late 1930s.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2eG3i1BUo1DwkaTrhtwHM7GmTb-aMRClQTCErS8sz-tmigeWojRplbGMVsP9B-r2iIx0CPjgSVbhi67w06oW8GIHrJ0G5MASHvg-wLbeTFQlVqeGYmw9_ityTfrrTYxYMManqphryvo/s1600/edard-bawden.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2eG3i1BUo1DwkaTrhtwHM7GmTb-aMRClQTCErS8sz-tmigeWojRplbGMVsP9B-r2iIx0CPjgSVbhi67w06oW8GIHrJ0G5MASHvg-wLbeTFQlVqeGYmw9_ityTfrrTYxYMManqphryvo/s400/edard-bawden.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724268484503124258" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hA2P-4uDDI1qaFNP5YwkRnrL3ZjYt2TEWpQMujjjCnfzS6fg69HUkZUap07Szy0qPEp28VUkWxtqZubhlYllfDqz-wJAE6l6AcGDzfbuaqz1w52REPJH35uAanv725cIKmsvFjYSksI/s1600/owl.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 317px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hA2P-4uDDI1qaFNP5YwkRnrL3ZjYt2TEWpQMujjjCnfzS6fg69HUkZUap07Szy0qPEp28VUkWxtqZubhlYllfDqz-wJAE6l6AcGDzfbuaqz1w52REPJH35uAanv725cIKmsvFjYSksI/s400/owl.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724269024540843714" /></a><br /><br />Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford<br /><br />However the trace of the maker which is sometimes visible in wallpapers such as these is undeniably part of their charm. Without exception, everyone I interviewed about the wallpapers cited their slightly handmade qualities as being desirable.<br /><br />Do handmade objects specifically appeal to us because they bear the traces of having been touched by another person? Certainly in terms of sounds, I am especially "attracted" to sounds which bear such traces. That is why I approached <a href="http://www.handweavers.co.uk/">The Handweaver's Studio</a> for the purposes of this project. I was sure that this incredible repository of <span style="font-style:italic;">everything required for weaving cloth</span> would yield precisely the detailed sounds which I required. I went to The Handweaver's Studio in search of the sense of an organic, human, rhythm which would reflect the handmade, repetitious nature of the wallpaper design, and my quest was fruitful!<br /><br />Wendy Morris is the current custodian of The Handweaver's Studio. It was very busy when I visited, and the only way to hear any of the the looms above the chatter of folks and the clatter of looms was via a contact microphone. As well as the table loom described above, Wendy also demonstrated a floor loom for me in The Handweaver's Studio.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729176-floor-loom-at-the-handweaver-s-studio/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729176-floor-loom-at-the-handweaver-s-studio">listen to ‘Floor loom at The Handweaver's Studio’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />I noticed that the sound in this floor loom was very <span style="font-style:italic;">springy</span>, and Wendy explained that her own loom is even <span style="font-style:italic;">springier</span>. She also explained that in order to really capture the sound of a shuttle moving back and forward between the sheds, we'd need to go to her home and record her <span style="font-style:italic;">own</span> loom. Next, Wendy very kindly took me to her home and demonstrated her 12 shaft countermarch floor loom for me.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729191-wendy-s-loom/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729191-wendy-s-loom">listen to ‘Wendy's loom’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />I recorded Wendy weaving first of all using a contact microphone, but since it was so wonderfully peaceful and quiet in her weaving room, I was also able to make a couple of recordings with my stereo shotgun microphone, in which there is a much greater sense of acoustics, atmosphere, and space.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729519-wendy-s-loom-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729519-wendy-s-loom-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone">listen to ‘Wendy's loom (recorded with a stereo shotgun microphone)’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729523-wendy-s-loom-from-the-other-side-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/729523-wendy-s-loom-from-the-other-side-recorded-with-a-stereo-shotgun-microphone">listen to ‘Wendy's loom from the other side (recorded with a stereo shotgun microphone)’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />This is the cloth that Wendy is weaving in the sound recordings here. It's made of silk and lurex, and is of Wendy's own design. While it is on the loom being woven, it must necessarily lie flat, but once it comes off the loom, it pleats itself because of the structure of the weave.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp3blYmXV2sA3HPum08220-YYpdVESIP13Yn6CUSKWPJxKWm2UNRVlkmm8_Fwtc1xTGJ5jQcrJjfeMMf7yf05ScN3zVYs7X0HX4vqXCC9zBAk4OBORS0J1VFVtqbMDa1SD4O9tmuFNHk/s1600/wendy%2527s-loom1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp3blYmXV2sA3HPum08220-YYpdVESIP13Yn6CUSKWPJxKWm2UNRVlkmm8_Fwtc1xTGJ5jQcrJjfeMMf7yf05ScN3zVYs7X0HX4vqXCC9zBAk4OBORS0J1VFVtqbMDa1SD4O9tmuFNHk/s400/wendy%2527s-loom1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724473087088015762" /></a><br /><br />Woven fabric © Wendy Morris, photographed by Felicity Ford with kind permission<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7y3xfMrXCq5jWALLjceCadzbD4jd9Rk2l6O4ee4QhsPpcuLO_PowzwUFPKRUcbwAdt8hojanDpj9LM0UW2bGUza2rVMJ679sgO5UjbhocwgSuk9IgLGrN1q4fgFoECnKdZDi40XzZwAQ/s1600/wendy%2527s-loom.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7y3xfMrXCq5jWALLjceCadzbD4jd9Rk2l6O4ee4QhsPpcuLO_PowzwUFPKRUcbwAdt8hojanDpj9LM0UW2bGUza2rVMJ679sgO5UjbhocwgSuk9IgLGrN1q4fgFoECnKdZDi40XzZwAQ/s400/wendy%2527s-loom.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724474469375186754" /></a><br /><br />Woven fabric © Wendy Morris, photographed by Felicity Ford with kind permission<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDEScaYxjJfXxVxQCLK9j0fF0Mw0kMvFqCHGewygy-gvI1SpLe89_mGIbi9svUgJ8r0B21BdvYW2SNqzvokD3Y-iqxH4opBGmqY0BtplEbx6xjacEkAUeDydK5490KCp2OE_fDXEvElM/s1600/wendy%2527s-weaving.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDEScaYxjJfXxVxQCLK9j0fF0Mw0kMvFqCHGewygy-gvI1SpLe89_mGIbi9svUgJ8r0B21BdvYW2SNqzvokD3Y-iqxH4opBGmqY0BtplEbx6xjacEkAUeDydK5490KCp2OE_fDXEvElM/s400/wendy%2527s-weaving.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724474643233628962" /></a><br /><br />Woven fabric © Wendy Morris, photographed by Felicity Ford with kind permission<br /><br />Many thanks to Wendy Morris and <a href="http://www.handweavers.co.uk/">The Handweaver's Studio</a> for giving these amazing sounds to the Sonic Wallpaper project.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-79084091416264024032012-03-26T00:49:00.009-07:002012-03-26T04:13:04.640-07:00Listening at Cole & SonsA few weeks ago I posted about an amazing video featuring a William Morris wallpaper design being printed in the traditional way - using woodblocks - at the <a href="http://www.cole-and-son.com/home.asp">Cole & Sons</a> Wallpaper factory. The video I found is apparently no longer available on the Internet, but here is another video featuring Cole & Sons wallpaper:<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qBn5VbxOM9U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />The original video I found was silent and this video - as you'll notice - has laid background music and a descriptive narrative over the top of the sounds of wallpaper being created. I specifically wanted to document the sounds of wallpaper being made, in order to create some of my Sonic Wallpaper designs. The reason for this is that several people whom I interviewed about the MoDA wallpaper collection speculated on how certain designs had been made. There is also an exciting aspect of recording at Cole & Sons, which is the very real links between MoDA's collection of wallpapers, and the factory itself, which did in fact produce several of the historic designs now held in the collection. You can read about them <a href="http://modamuseum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/cole-son.html">here</a>!<br /><br />I hoped that in recording the sounds of wallpaper being made, I might sonically expand on both the history of wallpaper, and people's musings on its fabrication. To this end I went to the Cole & Sons Wallpaper Factory with my Audio Technica BP4029 stereo shotgun mic, (+ mic stand) an AKG C411 contact microphone, a pair of SP-TFB-2 - Sound Professionals - Low Noise In-Ear Binaural Microphones, an Edirol R-09 and a FOSTEX FR-2LE.<br /><br />This is what I heard...<br /><br />...#1 gloopy wallpaper ink being scooped into a bucket, ready to be poured into the printing machine...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727809-gloopy-wallpaper-ink/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727809-gloopy-wallpaper-ink">listen to ‘Gloopy Wallpaper Ink’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89YUkaT9pJ1HkqG1CB5L_oVGyIeMvQ-UceyjojvpZ75pfYOOh4W0kEfe65emcYaVszaqMWuSsUrmJgfsUzkQ-LL4RExB651TBLYPFB1YXlrd-wIEK5JgsQ1CcH2fOxURq9TMW95xoob0/s1600/gloopy-ink1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89YUkaT9pJ1HkqG1CB5L_oVGyIeMvQ-UceyjojvpZ75pfYOOh4W0kEfe65emcYaVszaqMWuSsUrmJgfsUzkQ-LL4RExB651TBLYPFB1YXlrd-wIEK5JgsQ1CcH2fOxURq9TMW95xoob0/s400/gloopy-ink1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724131787985040370" /></a><br /><br />...#2 the sound of the base-layer printing machine, which uses an airblade to remove any excess ink, so that the wallpaper receives a completely even, fine-coating of ink...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727861-airblade-and-description/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727861-airblade-and-description">listen to ‘Airblade and description’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Wy5Ut6okOmw7jfo3nhRmByHUtNbx9lN_7E1ZwxIEejN_utGFab_IQgkBRBNlhwuX69D_3JVjf8wChnc5J4_tCWnOgiwYNcEsR2UGUApkg5gNagvU6D97BedeZoJyQ52MemWhBV7j3c/s1600/base-layer-machine-airblade.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Wy5Ut6okOmw7jfo3nhRmByHUtNbx9lN_7E1ZwxIEejN_utGFab_IQgkBRBNlhwuX69D_3JVjf8wChnc5J4_tCWnOgiwYNcEsR2UGUApkg5gNagvU6D97BedeZoJyQ52MemWhBV7j3c/s400/base-layer-machine-airblade.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724140655439612386" /></a><br /><br />...#3 sticks and a rotating chain lifting the paper up at even intervals, to hang a continuous length of paper in big loops in a drying chamber (if you listen carefully you can hear the slide of the paper as the chain/stick mechanism lift it up).<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727834-sticks-lifting-wallpaper/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727834-sticks-lifting-wallpaper">listen to ‘Sticks lifting wallpaper’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4wWHGB-hhqXeDx8MMwPRFtgfypJF6dfVwsJiwB5hQQb0hNttWRZW56Wf2DQ1wpsVOOQbw9GLAfoVTxtJ7UsDo_IWjnhAyxgKST7iXq6nr9xWq1_C5GPkCKmuAqBf1NyRHOxvhgJS5rU/s1600/paper-being-lifted.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4wWHGB-hhqXeDx8MMwPRFtgfypJF6dfVwsJiwB5hQQb0hNttWRZW56Wf2DQ1wpsVOOQbw9GLAfoVTxtJ7UsDo_IWjnhAyxgKST7iXq6nr9xWq1_C5GPkCKmuAqBf1NyRHOxvhgJS5rU/s400/paper-being-lifted.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724135046806438850" /></a><br /><br />...#4 sounds of colour-matching for a screenprinted design. You can hear a small piece of paper being cut out with scissors; the sound of the vacuum pump on the screenprinting press in operation; and the sounds of a hair-dryer being used to swiftly dry the ink, so that the sample may be held up against an original for comparison...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727922-colourmatching-for-a-screenprinted-design/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727922-colourmatching-for-a-screenprinted-design">listen to ‘Colourmatching for a screenprinted design’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2quhFehTiRif15n4FEPuFzq-p_6k5r6L0mXUIWwK8ZFoTAk7JkY-3yzfrxisFpHo2MmVKEBXCSdYXVOpSN21VBf3Feg-5-VopAqkLPxfK0lKEVw9l42LXZAT6kOzS6QSVQC7mphcfiM/s1600/screenprinting1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2quhFehTiRif15n4FEPuFzq-p_6k5r6L0mXUIWwK8ZFoTAk7JkY-3yzfrxisFpHo2MmVKEBXCSdYXVOpSN21VBf3Feg-5-VopAqkLPxfK0lKEVw9l42LXZAT6kOzS6QSVQC7mphcfiM/s400/screenprinting1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724148504036368770" /></a><br /><br />...#5 the sounds of mixing up solvent-based inks, which are kept in tin containers and which sound surprisingly different, being mixed, to water-based inks...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727943-mixing-solvent-based-inks/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727943-mixing-solvent-based-inks">listen to ‘Mixing solvent-based inks’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />...#6 the sounds of a printing press idling, while it awaits a wash following a big printing job...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727965-idling-printing-press/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727965-idling-printing-press">listen to ‘Idling printing press’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />...#7 the sounds of the screenprinting press in operation. You can hear the metal frame with the screen held in it being bought down onto the paper; then the haul of the squeegee across the screen to distribute the ink; then a pause while the printer registers the print and moves the paper onwards (leaving a space to print another repeat of the design after the first layer of ink is dry); then the process repeating again. What I love about this recording is the sense of rhythms and timings. The printer takes almost exactly the same amount of time to register the paper between each print - such is the nature of practised expertise...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727992-the-sounds-of-screenprinting-a-wallpaper-design/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/727992-the-sounds-of-screenprinting-a-wallpaper-design">listen to ‘The sounds of screenprinting a wallpaper design ’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />...#8 the sounds of rolling the wallpaper up into a roll, once it has been printed with a base-layer of ink...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728001-rolling-wallpaper-up/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728001-rolling-wallpaper-up">listen to ‘Rolling wallpaper up’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCpCynUUXYw5rocz7jAWDarzayytnGXH7gSj1rhFQ4X63ymP9zQU-nh4pcLqJjjVVXPGKUou6GlTpSp-PztOzEBTgzmweZLVutOtIetuKUlbUDvrdUihppwMhyL-_OUBPKrY1JcrJ-PA/s1600/roller.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCpCynUUXYw5rocz7jAWDarzayytnGXH7gSj1rhFQ4X63ymP9zQU-nh4pcLqJjjVVXPGKUou6GlTpSp-PztOzEBTgzmweZLVutOtIetuKUlbUDvrdUihppwMhyL-_OUBPKrY1JcrJ-PA/s400/roller.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724160734623998290" /></a><br /><br />...#9 (my favourite sound recording of the day) the sounds of testing out and preparing an overprint using a cylindrical, rubber print-block. I attached a contact microphone to this machine, and you can hear the mechanisms inside, and the slowing and the stopping and the resuming as the Design Studio Team at Cole & Sons study their preliminary print, testing the colours and seeing how it prints out as compared to the original design.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728006-rubber-block-wallpaper-printing-machine-in-action/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/728006-rubber-block-wallpaper-printing-machine-in-action">listen to ‘Rubber block wallpaper printing machine in action’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CJ2ZM6X4fh_HAywvV-0iCb5yuUIe6WIW64CZNUK6SFMMb09de-oAHqc7Jv3jtD7G4gTtqgfuI_OtYlYg2I_d3t9gDysXTk2R5SVUwWLZbbYb-zWfv5CHkFHcgZv2jJCbqmAiiIuncNM/s1600/rubber-block-design.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CJ2ZM6X4fh_HAywvV-0iCb5yuUIe6WIW64CZNUK6SFMMb09de-oAHqc7Jv3jtD7G4gTtqgfuI_OtYlYg2I_d3t9gDysXTk2R5SVUwWLZbbYb-zWfv5CHkFHcgZv2jJCbqmAiiIuncNM/s400/rubber-block-design.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724161327722309634" /></a><br /><br />...so you have heard here some of the principal sounds associated with the production of this wallpaper, and the screen-printed design shown earlier in the post. Did the production of these papers sound as you would have expected? And next time you look at a wallpaper design will you regard it differently, wondering what sounds were associated with its production?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMm7HHCogxXnznDC7gFkRZZyYn3W41JI9h44bYE_jx20Vtd5dX_Uv-g4s32y9SWftMDQKAbB6oHdpuFVWMrZX9FmbG2OplUI4ayk8CKo6cPSjczoGagV4T1PAkaqRJdrRK_cc53_mKp9s/s1600/colourmatching.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMm7HHCogxXnznDC7gFkRZZyYn3W41JI9h44bYE_jx20Vtd5dX_Uv-g4s32y9SWftMDQKAbB6oHdpuFVWMrZX9FmbG2OplUI4ayk8CKo6cPSjczoGagV4T1PAkaqRJdrRK_cc53_mKp9s/s400/colourmatching.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724161764359202274" /></a><br /><br />Thanks so much to Cole & Sons for allowing me to document some of the sounds of wallpaper being created... it was very inspiring to explore how noisy the creation of something as supposedly "quiet" as wallpaper can be.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-29272007768622006662012-03-22T14:20:00.001-07:002012-03-22T15:38:58.489-07:00Ticks and tocks at the Clockmaker's MuseumOne of the wallpaper designs in the MoDA collection inspired many comments about <span style="font-style:italic;">time</span> and about <span style="font-style:italic;">rhythm</span>. I wrote about the design and the associated sounds which I need to record to create in its sonic equivalent <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/soundsite-and-lists.html">here</a>, and about the quest to find precisely the right ticking sound <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/places-and-sounds.html">here</a>. I then contacted Sir George White - who is the keeper of <a href="http://www.clockmakers.org/museum-and-library/">the Clockmaker's Museum at Guildhall</a> - to see if they might have some suitable clocks for me to record in their treasure trove of horological devices.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cJD9NeoHuV8tOQhUB2Tu82YFMGdIC039uu6j56OGFnthBTW_xT6IQX3kvLCorL0ND7waLznU7wojLBAYMk9BVRW7nm7IVZncpA4AeuXl78iJ4qNEbMz_Ow_uhA-T5VgZv5ni_kRBylE/s1600/clockmaker%2527s-museum.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cJD9NeoHuV8tOQhUB2Tu82YFMGdIC039uu6j56OGFnthBTW_xT6IQX3kvLCorL0ND7waLznU7wojLBAYMk9BVRW7nm7IVZncpA4AeuXl78iJ4qNEbMz_Ow_uhA-T5VgZv5ni_kRBylE/s400/clockmaker%2527s-museum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722833649488667714" /></a><br /><br />I could not hear this clock through its thick glass case, but doesn't it look <span style="font-style:italic;">amazing?</span><br /><br />I've wanted to visit the Clockmaker's Museum at Guildhall ever since listening to <a href="http://www.soundsurvey.org.uk/index.php/survey/soundacts_of1/official1/888/">Ian Rawes's recording of the clocks striking noon there</a> on <a href="http://www.soundsurvey.org.uk/">the London Sound Survey website</a>, and since they house the oldest (and many consider the finest) collection of watches and clocks in the world, it seemed an obvious starting point for the quest to find <span style="font-style:italic;">just the right ticking sound</span>. <br /><br />Sir George explained to me, however, that the Museum's tiny size, lack of quiet study rooms, and the fact that it does not have loads of staff to keep it going might make it difficult for me to record the clock sounds that I am hoping to acquire there.<br /><br />Nonetheless I decided there would be no harm at all in my making some preliminary investigations into the practicalities of recording clocks, and so I made an excursion to the Museum last week during my Sonic Wallpaper recording adventures.<br /><br />There is an air-conditioning system at the Clockmaker's Museum - presumably to protect and conserve the priceless clocks - and so underpinning the delicate sonorities of all the clocks and their internal mechanisms in this recording, you can hear a droning sound. Hopefully, this recording nonetheless gives you some idea of what it's like to be in a room which is filled floor to ceiling with watches and clocks!<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723644-ambience-at-the-clockmaker-s-museum/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723644-ambience-at-the-clockmaker-s-museum">listen to ‘Ambience at the Clockmaker's Museum’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />This recording was made with binaural microphones, the capsules of which have an omni-directional pick-up pattern. Without getting into too much technical detail, this means that they "hear" everything around them, which means it is impossible to single the ticking of one clock out from the throng using them. However by attaching an AKG C411 contact mic to the surfaces of the Grandfather clocks over in the corner of the Museum, I was able to get some insights into the different sonic qualities of different clock mechanisms! This is because the contact microphone picks up vibrations running through the wood and glass of the individual clock to which it is attached. <br /><br />I may have mixed up which clocks were which in my notes, but these are some of the ticks and tocks that I heard with my AKG C411 microphone in the Clockmaker's Museum. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3hzub7A47G0zgCuCFb6s7aysYPwq7mgqWK11V3TgL5rm3I8ey1h6kuWaFfbtaXK-BY7Wmm_A3T6gRUHnKcSLMUn6NULYcQ8UHMLxZQor7VjbAAkLW5JGvP-Yd1o9s35dH582Ih2KtnU/s1600/george-stratford.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3hzub7A47G0zgCuCFb6s7aysYPwq7mgqWK11V3TgL5rm3I8ey1h6kuWaFfbtaXK-BY7Wmm_A3T6gRUHnKcSLMUn6NULYcQ8UHMLxZQor7VjbAAkLW5JGvP-Yd1o9s35dH582Ih2KtnU/s400/george-stratford.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722847616441611282" /></a><br /><br />I think this is the oldest clock I recorded; it was made in 1705 by George Stratford, in London.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723689-month-going-longcase-clock-by-george-stratford-london-1705/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723689-month-going-longcase-clock-by-george-stratford-london-1705">listen to ‘Month-going Longcase clock by George Stratford, London, 1705’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />This next clock was made in 1720 by Christopher Pinchbeck.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl7NNtLHboEOSJgGTIsUR-p5nHwfWg52i5cazbPKKwPSsqQO67HDNBLxBHBy9OvUC-abKBJUYldLmZfrh1AQGu8bPNcnpZZLwAz6RJk85oEBViy8phDfujSxjYd7fo-O2btyG4BgA4fk/s1600/eight-day-long-case-1720.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwl7NNtLHboEOSJgGTIsUR-p5nHwfWg52i5cazbPKKwPSsqQO67HDNBLxBHBy9OvUC-abKBJUYldLmZfrh1AQGu8bPNcnpZZLwAz6RJk85oEBViy8phDfujSxjYd7fo-O2btyG4BgA4fk/s400/eight-day-long-case-1720.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722849018821727554" /></a><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723697-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-christopher-pinchbeck-1720/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723697-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-christopher-pinchbeck-1720">listen to ‘Eight-day Longcase clock made by Christopher Pinchbeck, 1720’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Next up are two clocks from 1750; the first was made by George Graham, and the next one by Justin Vulliamy.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9GD5uNfpixqkyukQ-b171tK2bZj97ktLlJA_vfY8JGDC4GR6-aPHK2v2sAOG27ieIiS8RIBvIrm2RhGBpDFBg6ZFcY0FOTtsBmKPrT2gkwYQIfLBiRvLmFUxNToxmdlscApXvhkGVi0/s1600/eight-day-longcase-clock-17.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ9GD5uNfpixqkyukQ-b171tK2bZj97ktLlJA_vfY8JGDC4GR6-aPHK2v2sAOG27ieIiS8RIBvIrm2RhGBpDFBg6ZFcY0FOTtsBmKPrT2gkwYQIfLBiRvLmFUxNToxmdlscApXvhkGVi0/s400/eight-day-longcase-clock-17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722850320044772098" /></a><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723704-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-george-graham-1750/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723704-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-george-graham-1750">listen to ‘Eight-day Longcase clock made by George Graham, 1750’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723712-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-justin-vulliamy-1750/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723712-eight-day-longcase-clock-made-by-justin-vulliamy-1750">listen to ‘Eight-day Longcase clock made by Justin Vulliamy, 1750’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />However my favourite recording of the day is this one, and it's the only one I have no idea about! I wonder if anyone at the Museum could tell from the sound which one it is?<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723715-mysterious-bouncing-clock-mechanism-a-longcase-clock-at-the-clockmaker-s-museum/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723715-mysterious-bouncing-clock-mechanism-a-longcase-clock-at-the-clockmaker-s-museum">listen to ‘Mysterious bouncing clock mechanism - a Longcase clock at the Clockmaker's Museum’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Sir George has suggested that I contact the British Museum to discuss the possibility of recording some of the clocks in their collection, which I intend to do, as I am not overly happy with the amount of hiss in these recordings, and I'm still not sure I've found <span style="font-style:italic;">just the right tick tock sound</span>.<br /><br />But I urge anyone who has the opportunity to stop by to go through the Clockmaker's Museum so that you may hear for yourself the lovely array of sounds there as my recordings really don't do justice to them.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-15436423911270641222012-03-22T07:44:00.011-07:002012-03-26T00:48:50.062-07:00Vintage sounds of dentistry at the British Dental Asssociation MuseumA few weeks ago <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/listening-at-dentists.html" style="font-size: 100%; ">I visited Birwood Dental Care to record the sounds of dental instruments in action</a><span style="font-size: 100%; ">. Last week, I expanded on this collection of historic dentistry sounds by visiting the </span><a href="http://www.bda.org/museum/" style="font-size: 100%; ">British Dental Association Museum</a> where Melanie Parker - who runs the education and outreach programme at the Museum - kindly demonstrated the use of many of the objects in the collection so that I could <span style="font-style:italic;">hear</span> them. These recordings relate to comments made by interviewees earlier in the Sonic Wallpaper project, and will be used to animate the fantasies and imaginings which looking at the <a href="http://modamuseum.blogspot.co.uk/">MoDA</a> wallpaper collections inspired. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNBmZWrsEVIQMZlKgJBdve61C4mQJuvxM_tV-qGIgT3NxWar_YpOn53coQiAV05gyLQLYaXvewoKsmE8dBGwMUiS3Kqy8o7VEiKDuHmuOi-VhT3hw9sg71gYQRtLUr9FRexCBC6B4u5U/s1600/ivories-brush.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNBmZWrsEVIQMZlKgJBdve61C4mQJuvxM_tV-qGIgT3NxWar_YpOn53coQiAV05gyLQLYaXvewoKsmE8dBGwMUiS3Kqy8o7VEiKDuHmuOi-VhT3hw9sg71gYQRtLUr9FRexCBC6B4u5U/s400/ivories-brush.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722761687329809474" /></a><br /><br />Ivory dentures and denture brush photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of the BDA Museum<br /><br />The objects in the BDA Museum are fascinating, ranging from dentures made from vulcanite and porcelain or ivory through to intricate sets of instruments and elaborate cases for tooth-picks. I was intrigued to learn about the relationships between privilege, status, and the care of one's teeth, and to see how the objects and rituals associated with dental health have evolved over the past couple of hundred years. There is much social history to be gleaned from exploring the collection at the BDA Museum. For instance, the ivory dentures photographed above have holes at the front in order to put pins into to then attach real human teeth. Such teeth were often taken from dead soldiers, and were known as ‘Waterloo teeth' because of the plundering of soldiers' bodies for teeth<a href="http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A5103271"> which took place following the Battle of Waterloo</a>. <br /><br />It will probably not surprise you to learn that I was principally interested in objects in the collection which might produce recordable sounds, such as a foot-treadle dental engine invented by James B Morrison in 1871. According to the BDA Museum's <a href="http://www.bda.org/museum/exhibitions-and-events/past-temporary-exhibitons/2009/historic-drilling.aspx"> article on the history of dental drills</a> "this foot operated machine based on the principles of the treadle sewing machine achieved 2000 rpm greatly increasing the rotation speed [of the spinning drill bit]." I don't know about you, but I find this an infinitely more soothing sound than that of our modern-day dentist's drills!<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723102-1871-treadle-operated-dentist-s-drill/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723102-1871-treadle-operated-dentist-s-drill">listen to ‘1871 treadle-operated dentist's drill’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />I made several other recordings of historic dental drills, including a 200-year-old hand drill, the operations of which I documented with both a contact microphone blu-tacked onto the dentures which were being drilled, and with a stereo shotgun microphone pointing at the table where Melanie was operating the drill.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723126-human-tooth-enamel-and-dentist-s-hand-drill/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723126-human-tooth-enamel-and-dentist-s-hand-drill">listen to ‘Human tooth enamel and dentist's hand drill’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />The reason for this elaborate set-up is that when we are at the dentist's, we mostly hear the sounds of what happens as vibrations conducted through the bones in our head. Contact microphones work by picking up on vibrations of sound as they travel through matter, and I hoped that in recording the sounds of a dental drill using contact-microphones, I might be able to simulate the way that we hear dentistry in our own mouths. The results are appropriately scratchy and uncomfortable to listen to, and are unsurprisingly very different from the recordings I made using a stereo shotgun microphone.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxn-lVQG8ma3m_NhA0ix1_Omn-9Zd2fPSccTMDXg49TJPYheK769YI9ocleSv-Ttr8e4RLYQ6CnRirTi9YFcj-5wvOhpxOvW_WxjMacGUerlxqgURWAZ_p6oJh66xpRDod7tebnylyN0/s1600/human-teeth-dentures.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxn-lVQG8ma3m_NhA0ix1_Omn-9Zd2fPSccTMDXg49TJPYheK769YI9ocleSv-Ttr8e4RLYQ6CnRirTi9YFcj-5wvOhpxOvW_WxjMacGUerlxqgURWAZ_p6oJh66xpRDod7tebnylyN0/s400/human-teeth-dentures.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722770974051015106" /></a><br /><br />De-accessioned dentures containing human teeth photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of the BDA Museum<br /><br />I think you can hear a lot more of the teeth and the drilling action in the contact microphone recording (above) and more of the rattly mechanism of the 200 year old Finzi hand drill in the stereo shotgun microphone recording (below).<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723163-finzi-hand-drill-drilling-into-de-accessioned-dentures-containing-human-teeth/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723163-finzi-hand-drill-drilling-into-de-accessioned-dentures-containing-human-teeth">listen to ‘Finzi hand drill drilling into de-accessioned dentures, containing human teeth’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBpNTlWRz76odCHg7l85umSX76FCikdqJgyHUbufpSvBeibD7OwG4sIvDj7jBEwJn3KpIZZSJHCpHm4qiO6wZHK42pLKZXW53KqxvTqlv4GHQA17kfJRei-RnDeaB4oDYazOm7q00IXU/s1600/hand-drill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBpNTlWRz76odCHg7l85umSX76FCikdqJgyHUbufpSvBeibD7OwG4sIvDj7jBEwJn3KpIZZSJHCpHm4qiO6wZHK42pLKZXW53KqxvTqlv4GHQA17kfJRei-RnDeaB4oDYazOm7q00IXU/s400/hand-drill.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722767652951589314" /></a><br /><br />Finzi hand drill photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of the BDA Museum<br /><br />The sound of squeezing toothpaste out of a tube is almost completely inaudible, but in the past when dentifrice or toothpaste were supplied in tins or ceramic pots, the sounds associated with beginning and ending everyday tooth-brushing rituals were quite different from today.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723109-ceramic-cherry-toothpaste-pot-opening-and-closing/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723109-ceramic-cherry-toothpaste-pot-opening-and-closing">listen to ‘Ceramic cherry toothpaste pot opening and closing’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtybE26sJvbBHQqTEi54GsvKE8qh1534kGH9GZCMg-lDfU4xE_UmSNYCbmvqv4RqVN7-F5JM9Z41QuQybt91JwDBfZJ5IVUhtA1jCvOp3dHmNjbvz2U2miDZ5JFcRakOPr97PJ5JuDS_Y/s1600/cherry-toothpaste.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtybE26sJvbBHQqTEi54GsvKE8qh1534kGH9GZCMg-lDfU4xE_UmSNYCbmvqv4RqVN7-F5JM9Z41QuQybt91JwDBfZJ5IVUhtA1jCvOp3dHmNjbvz2U2miDZ5JFcRakOPr97PJ5JuDS_Y/s400/cherry-toothpaste.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722772737803896594" /></a><br /><br />Cherry toothpaste pot photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of the BDA Museum<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723159-opening-and-closing-a-tin-of-dentifrice/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723159-opening-and-closing-a-tin-of-dentifrice">listen to ‘Opening and closing a tin of Dentifrice’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarv69nP38Bffj9knyK14zcPPOevaWggLvGxAgkLLtCV6E04zpoACU0kgx_-5Qq-bSDfsa4xMLbCyBckA3FoAuUbgC9uw1TgrLW9xbrBb0M_WRQ259Ms3QzrhKLnhfRk4d6EA1mkpGB8w/s1600/dentifrice.jpg" style="font-size: 100%; "><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarv69nP38Bffj9knyK14zcPPOevaWggLvGxAgkLLtCV6E04zpoACU0kgx_-5Qq-bSDfsa4xMLbCyBckA3FoAuUbgC9uw1TgrLW9xbrBb0M_WRQ259Ms3QzrhKLnhfRk4d6EA1mkpGB8w/s400/dentifrice.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722773125554042530" /></a></div><br />Dentifrice tin photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of the BDA Museum<br /><br />Another sound which I found especially interesting to compare to its contemporary counterpart is the sound of the wooden dispensary chair. This was a piece of apparatus designed to tilt a patient's head backwards so that the dentist could get at their teeth. It is creaky and wooden, and does not purr or beep like its electronic, modern-day equivalent! For both my recording of the chair at Birwood Dental Care and the BDA Museum, I used binaural microphones to record the motions of the chair. The reason for this is that I think one always hears this sound from the perspective of being a patient; of stepping up into the dentist's chair, sitting down on it, and being compelled by its movements to lie back. I've put the two recordings here side by side, so that you can compare them.<br /><br />Both recordings were made with a set of <a href="http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-TFB-2">SP-TFB-2 - Sound Professionals - Low Noise In-Ear Binaural Microphones</a> connected to an Edirol R-09. I discovered these microphones through the wonderful <a href="http://www.binauraldiaries.co.uk/">Binaural Diaries of Ollie Hall</a>.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723153-dispensary-chair/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723153-dispensary-chair">listen to ‘Dispensary chair’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704326-dentist-s-chair/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704326-dentist-s-chair">listen to ‘Dentist's chair’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />From the point of view of the Sonic Wallpaper project, these recordings are very interesting as the more modern dentist's chair undeniably has an association with converted old houses and thickly-overpainted textured wallpaper, whereas I have no memories or associations with the sounds of the dispensary chair, and therefore no way of visualising what kind of space it would originally have been used in. I imagine it is unlikely that there would have been wallpaper in the rooms in 1800s Britain where the treadle-operated foot drill or the dispensary chair were originally put to use, but I am not really sure. Any ideas, anyone?<br /><br />My favourite recording from the BDA Museum adventure is definitely the contact-microphone recording, as I think it is visceral and uncomfortable in just the way that having a drill working away at your own your teeth can be. I am not sure yet how I will use this sound in a Sonic Wallpaper, but it relates to a wallpaper design which made some of my interview participants very uncomfortable, and so I feel it to be an appropriate sound for the project on several levels.<br /><br />I'm also rather fond of this recording, which was made using an old set of dentures made of vulcanite with porcelain teeth, and a denture-cleaning brush. Melanie explained to me that for a long time a roll and flick motion was prescribed as the finest approach to cleaning your teeth, and as you can hear this produces a very particular rhythm.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723180-roll-and-flick-movement/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/723180-roll-and-flick-movement">listen to ‘Roll and flick movement’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Many thanks to the BDA Museum for all your help recording these sounds of historic dental tools in action. Stay tuned to see how they shall be incorporated into the forthcoming Sonic Wallpaper designs.<br /><br />ETA: Melanie Parker read this article and has the following comments on the links between dentistry and wallpaper:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">I think the dental dispensary probably would have been rather stark because it was where the urban poor went for treatment. The foot drill, however, could be associated with wallpaper. As far as we can tell it would have been used by a wide-range of practitioners i.e. those working in dental dispensaries and dental hospitals treating the poor, pharmacists who also undertook dentistry or whom the dentist visited (some foot drills could be broken down and put in a wooden case – suitcase style – to be easily transported) and by high-class dentists who of course would have had very nice surgeries with plush wallpaper.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Thank You, Melanie.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-28796584971325265562012-03-19T11:00:00.001-07:002012-03-19T12:55:24.300-07:00Listening to Dr Johnson's House<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVS1skFQKhKdEGNFQRqO4deKjEHDtlmvfwda4yd8g51sSHprvZffM06huaaZo9AmofMauYgho6DQVzG4jjW9j2Vg_wcDUBhRooCrumeK8-qoWF1_2XMfkklU8-BhWJKd0R2iTuNOpJN0/s1600/01-thehouse.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVS1skFQKhKdEGNFQRqO4deKjEHDtlmvfwda4yd8g51sSHprvZffM06huaaZo9AmofMauYgho6DQVzG4jjW9j2Vg_wcDUBhRooCrumeK8-qoWF1_2XMfkklU8-BhWJKd0R2iTuNOpJN0/s400/01-thehouse.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721664027773701954" /></a><br /><br />Dr Johnson's House, photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br /><a href="http://thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress/?p=3825">Last week</a> I visited <a href="http://drjohnsonshouse.org/">Dr Johnson's House</a> in order to record some sounds for the production of Sonic Wallpaper.<br /><br />I was after creaks; old sash windows opening and closing; groaning doors; the sounds of old stairs; inky writing; pages being turned; and other sounds evoking <span style="font-style:italic;">The Past </span>and <span style="font-style:italic;">Writing</span>. <br /><br />This may seem anachronistic, but in visual wallpaper designs ordinary tastes have often been somewhat nostalgic and to my mind it makes sense that my sonic project follows suit. In <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.onlinestore.mdx.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&catid=6&modid=1&prodid=26&deptid=6&prodvarid=0">Little Palaces, house and home in the inter-war suburbs</a></span>, I read that in the early 1920s when the first home-decoration journals in the UK appeared, those journals "sang the praises of the old and the antique", and these days one only has to look at how the past inspires contemporary designs - think of the 1950s-esque Cath-Kidston prints which are so popular at the moment - to see that there often seems to be a kind of nostalgia for a golden past inhabiting our home-decoration fantasies. <br /><br />Accordingly, I have been asking myself the question <span style="font-style:italic;">what does sonic nostalgia sound like?</span> And how could we decorate our homes <span style="font-style:italic;">sonically</span> to recall the past in sounds in the same ways that we do with visual designs, patterns and colour-schemes? One way I can think of involves recording the sounds of old interiors, and finding simple ways of introducing such sounds into modern interiors. For instance, I could give you this sound, which you could play right now in your own home, momentarily experiencing the creakiness of doors which may - or may not be - older than the ones you currently have installed. Is deliberately introducing this sound from the past into your home any different from buying old things or nostalgic furnishings or textiles with which to adorn your home? How could you make the sound a semi-permanent feature, like wallpaper?<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718391-creaky-doors-on-the-first-floor-of-dr-johnson-s-house/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718391-creaky-doors-on-the-first-floor-of-dr-johnson-s-house">listen to ‘Creaky Doors on the first floor of Dr Johnson's House’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />Dr Johnson's House is over 300 years old and has been furnished simply, retaining many surviving early features from wooden floorboards and panelling to its creaky, open staircase. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlriv48Mzr8-j_kPRivCtw6VHtVF06RdDcbMWfpWL8SCDTXra7gAOsZqjiH31ueqhcPShZrkdaklxMkHJlNgY7T_TazM_YJKx7NlpUAP9vB3l2ZXjRVZe97X3pypfCN_x0EY3vULFU9nU/s1600/06-staircase.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlriv48Mzr8-j_kPRivCtw6VHtVF06RdDcbMWfpWL8SCDTXra7gAOsZqjiH31ueqhcPShZrkdaklxMkHJlNgY7T_TazM_YJKx7NlpUAP9vB3l2ZXjRVZe97X3pypfCN_x0EY3vULFU9nU/s400/06-staircase.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721660289939269970" /></a><br /><br />Staircase at Dr Johnson's House photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br />This means that the building is full of sounds which cannot be heard in an environment which has been modernised inside. The stairs, for instance, do not <span style="font-style:italic;">sound</span> like modern stairs, and the building is a treasure trove for nostalgic and historic noises...<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718362-ascending-and-descending-the-stairs-in-dr-johnson-s-house/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718362-ascending-and-descending-the-stairs-in-dr-johnson-s-house">listen to ‘Ascending and Descending the stairs in Dr Johnson's House’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />...It is however never possible to <span style="font-style:italic;">completely </span>evoke the past in sounds, because even in the quiet recess of Gough Square where Doctor Johnson lived and worked as a writer in the 1700s, the sounds of the modern world pervade. Infiltrating the red bricks and insinuating their way through the beautiful, warped glass of the windows, today's sounds announce the presence of aeroplanes, street traffic, mobile phones and other sonic indications that we now live in 2012.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgXt7UHBR9giQXSrv-S9vZO4azfU2tfgEPETm2U90uexZQnkSvZgZygcdRbX5Bn_XQhWgsUBu5ho8zuu_ehh_-1Y1k0_4ZfcDW2hOhM_Mo0-ifOo7UDvRN7pDFVXNlqrf_gehLO5n_x0/s1600/07-windows.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIgXt7UHBR9giQXSrv-S9vZO4azfU2tfgEPETm2U90uexZQnkSvZgZygcdRbX5Bn_XQhWgsUBu5ho8zuu_ehh_-1Y1k0_4ZfcDW2hOhM_Mo0-ifOo7UDvRN7pDFVXNlqrf_gehLO5n_x0/s400/07-windows.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721666289950100178" /></a><br />Window in Dr Johnson's House photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br />In this recording, for instance, you can hear the sounds of the old window and wooden shutters being opened onto the square below, and then a spate of sounds from the quiet, contemporary London backstreet outside drifting upwards.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718403-opening-and-closing-the-shuttered-windows-at-dr-johnson-s-house/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718403-opening-and-closing-the-shuttered-windows-at-dr-johnson-s-house">listen to ‘Opening and closing the shuttered windows at Dr Johnson's House’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />One of the interviewees who consulted the MoDA wallpaper collection as part of the Sonic Wallpaper project discussed her dream of one day having a small writing garrett which she would decorate with said wallpaper. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc96p7YcirTJJa_DR5yw1a1A2CLntYqCXX34LMbMBazyPKtQXN7GE3dVcwrXs5FsVrZsi0494NdJaLe4Yc2Gerp44O-dDvt8ElCGVkBShPB7jv9UxXxSkr-aobCS6MMykIeJl4WQoR2Hk/s1600/03-garrett.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc96p7YcirTJJa_DR5yw1a1A2CLntYqCXX34LMbMBazyPKtQXN7GE3dVcwrXs5FsVrZsi0494NdJaLe4Yc2Gerp44O-dDvt8ElCGVkBShPB7jv9UxXxSkr-aobCS6MMykIeJl4WQoR2Hk/s400/03-garrett.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721668067529061106" /></a><br /><br />Dr Johnson's Garrett photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br />Dr Johnson's Garrett is not exactly small, but he did compile a dictionary there, and I felt the creaky qualities of the building plus its writerly connotations would befit my friend's speculations on her yearned-for writing room.<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718420-writing-with-a-fountain-pen-in-dr-johnson-s-house/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718420-writing-with-a-fountain-pen-in-dr-johnson-s-house">listen to ‘Writing with a fountain pen in Dr Johnson's House’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />I therefore sat at the old wooden table leafing through a facsimile copy of Dr Johnson's Dictionary, recording the sounds of writing with a fountain pen on a thick piece of paper, and researching the etymology of the verb "to record" in Johnson's own book. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeps61KOZ35BE8I9naafd32RFapK5kt-vbZ8DgO_iCGZuHHjPp06X42bwsmqKJ5bWXZq4MH4e9Zy1XSZKCqpOkxFARhEBEzW7Tb1P7-WIMWXA9nvCr9mMc5y3B3W1YXe2SssPChE5mVk/s1600/02-to-record.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjeps61KOZ35BE8I9naafd32RFapK5kt-vbZ8DgO_iCGZuHHjPp06X42bwsmqKJ5bWXZq4MH4e9Zy1XSZKCqpOkxFARhEBEzW7Tb1P7-WIMWXA9nvCr9mMc5y3B3W1YXe2SssPChE5mVk/s400/02-to-record.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721670457186752482" /></a><br /><br />Facsimile edition of Dr Johnson's Dictionary photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718445-looking-up-record-in-a-facsimile-edition-of-dr-johnson-s-dictionary/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718445-looking-up-record-in-a-facsimile-edition-of-dr-johnson-s-dictionary">listen to ‘Looking up "record" in a facsimile edition of Dr Johnson's dictionary’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />The last sound which I recorded at Dr Johnson's House was the impressive sound of the door locking mechanism; a long, heavy chain on a twisty bit of metal, and a rather serious looking bolt. You can hear them below!<br /><br /><div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718455-chain-locking-mechanism-and-bolt-at-dr-johnson-s-house/embed"><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/718455-chain-locking-mechanism-and-bolt-at-dr-johnson-s-house">listen to ‘Chain locking mechanism and bolt at Dr Johnson's House’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "http://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /><br />It is a pity that Hodge - Dr Johnson's favourite cat - is no longer around, as my friend discussed how important the sound of cats disturbing and playing in her piles of papers would be as a sonic detail in her writing room, and I would have liked to have spent some time with this handsome feline, encouraging him to disarrange my handwritten papers in order to record the sound of this occurring. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXvT9VpHpbvUCf30UjrQPd6g90QGXwfRxmQJNBjTPcUi7dcrJl8FgrAM7mu49r-twtylCcDjYqTy44oQYhWN74bZX0_wq5npr-2L7aMvdngALPppjG9jfw7o_NnA32GtjfX-n0dyGJdw/s1600/08-hodge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXvT9VpHpbvUCf30UjrQPd6g90QGXwfRxmQJNBjTPcUi7dcrJl8FgrAM7mu49r-twtylCcDjYqTy44oQYhWN74bZX0_wq5npr-2L7aMvdngALPppjG9jfw7o_NnA32GtjfX-n0dyGJdw/s400/08-hodge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721674358099449970" /></a><br /><br />The statue of HODGE outside Dr Johnson's House photographed by Felicity Ford with the kind permission of Dr Johnson's House Trust<br /><br />I wonder if Hodge ever disturbed Dr Johnson's papers, knocking them to the floor with a brittle swoosh, and I wonder how far back in time writers have been listening to the antics of their cats in the contemplative quiet of their homes?<br /><br />What sounds do your cats introduce into your homes, and what would you consider to be a nostalgic sound which you would like to hear regularly in your home?<br /><br />Thanks very much to the Dr Johnson's House Trust for making these recordings possible, and stay tuned to see how they might become "sheets" of Sonic Wallpaper. For more information on Dr Johnson, on his dictionary and on Hodge, see the official website <a href="http://drjohnsonshouse.org/">here</a>.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-60763459357659846402012-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:002012-03-14T09:00:08.931-07:00Learning ResourcesI am developing a worksheet for our <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.com/p/learning-resources.html">Learning Resources page</a>. This page will hold a continually expanding archive of sounds and worksheets so that students can extend the Sonic Wallpaper project in your own way, and bring some of the ideas held here into your own practices. <br /><br />The first worksheet is called "Textured Wallpaper" and deals with the audio generated by interviewing people about <span style="font-style:italic;">this</span> wallpaper:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp8GviNBa4M9dNh15YgUg-H1R2ZKYP3uB3nXP8lwKyde0_ozoMq4ywUD3UXChoGpYFppMzpwQ4_OsIJysM4ZIC3hscdCs92PlVdqXgzzozC4E2mNyWr5sD526zmHGnG1026wq1niWRsM/s1600/textured-paper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTp8GviNBa4M9dNh15YgUg-H1R2ZKYP3uB3nXP8lwKyde0_ozoMq4ywUD3UXChoGpYFppMzpwQ4_OsIJysM4ZIC3hscdCs92PlVdqXgzzozC4E2mNyWr5sD526zmHGnG1026wq1niWRsM/s400/textured-paper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704185822305380274" /></a><br /><br />Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford<br /><br />One person commented that - as a child - looking at paper like this would often inspire a fantasy of <span style="font-style:italic;">travelling through it</span>. The idea of tracing a journey through the interweaving lines was inspired by the surface and the pattern, which become a bewildering maze as soon as one tries to traverse it in this way. <br /><br />Another person described this wallpaper as being "serviceable" echoing the perspective of another interviewee, who commented that this sort of textured design "lasts forever". <br /><br />There was much conversation regarding the kinds of environment - Edwardian house; Pub; Corridor - where such a design may be seen.<br /><br />One person even spoke of wishing to <span style="font-style:italic;">colour it in</span>, though - naturally - the rules surrounding the conservation of historic wallpaper samples at MoDA prevented anyone from acting on this!<br /><br />The paper also inspired much speculation on the appeal of papers like this to children. Everyone who remembered such a paper from their childhood fondly recalled their obsession with picking at its embossed surface.<br /><br />In terms of how I might develop these bits of conversation into Sonic Wallpaper, there are many options including recording the sounds of all things mentioned in the interviews:<br /><br />painting wallpaper - the sound of a roller going over and over a piece of wallpaper, to make sure it gets into all the cracks<br />walking down a long, Edwardian corridor, possibly lined with tiles<br />chatter in an old pub somewhere in the South East end of London<br />colouring pencils colouring<br />the secretive sound of peeling bits of wallpaper off a wall<br /><br />...then there is the somewhat more complex task of trying to create a sonic equivalent of this paper; i.e. a sound which would act as this paper acts, as a durable, lasting bit of texture which makes a room slightly less plain than a painted wall, and which inspires fantasies of travelling on paper, or the fear of overfussing things.<br /><br />What on earth would such a sound <span style="font-style:italic;">sound</span> like?<br /><br />If you want to explore these ideas yourself, you can download all the sounds and the worksheet to help you through the process <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.com/p/learning-resources.html">here</a>! Happy Sonic Wallpapering!Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-86732223453258916382012-03-12T09:00:00.000-07:002012-03-12T09:00:00.568-07:00Acoustic Territories by Brandon LaBelleIn 2010, a book by <a href="http://www.brandonlabelle.net/">Brandon LaBelle</a> entitled <span style="font-style:italic;">Acoustic Territories</span> was published by <a href="http://www.continuumbooks.com/">Continuum Press</a>. The book explores the idea of how sounds demarcate different kinds of territories or spaces, and considers sounds in terms of social relationships and the architecture of modern, Western society. <br /><br />Although the Sonic Wallpaper pieces will be presented in public contexts, the idea ultimately is that they will relate to and be <span style="font-style:italic;">about</span> domestic space and the domestic practice of home decorating. Interviewees have mostly discussed wallpapers in relation to rooms inside the home; and one theme which is important to <a href="http://modamuseum.blogspot.com/p/goodbye-cat-hill.html">MoDA</a> includes "the design and decoration of ‘ordinary’ homes of the early and mid-twentieth century". Therefore, for the purposes of thinking about Sonic Wallpaper I am most interested here in the chapter in LaBelle's book which deals with the soundscape of <span style="font-style:italic;">the home</span> and I have developed a worksheet for our <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.com/p/learning-resources.html">learning resources</a> page which explores both his texts and my own ideas pertaining to the relationships between domestic space and sound.<br /><br />The section of LaBelle's discussion which is most pertinent to the Sonic Wallpaper project contains his thoughts on the roles of home-decorating and sound in constructing the "psychic centre" that constitutes "home" for most of us [italics mine]: <br /><br /><blockquote>Against the growing metropolis, and the intensities of modern labour, the home became a place for alternative productions, outside or against the modern commodity - a place for re-establishing a psychic centre. Domestic space became a haven, refined through object collecting, <span style="font-style:italic;">interior design</span>, furnishing, and a general spatial ordering that might renew a feeling for the material world... <br /><br />...The home is an activity in continual development that brings many important pleasures and comforts as well as difficult labours. What it aims for is regulated by the notion or image of the individual or family unit, and the expression of values therein. In this way the home gains identity by reflecting back to those who occupy its spaces a set of meaningful expressions. <span style="font-style:italic;">Designing the home then is immediately reflective of needs that are physical as well as psychological and emotional</span>. Such perspective carries within it a sense for <span style="font-style:italic;">auditory clarity</span>, where order is equated with <span style="font-style:italic;">quiet</span>, and the maintenance of domestic life with <span style="font-style:italic;">audible regulation</span>. To come home is to seek refuge, however consciously, from the uncontrollable flows of <span style="font-style:italic;">noise</span> and the harangue of the exterior. </blockquote><br /><br />- Brandon LaBelle, <span style="font-style:italic;">Acoustic Territories</span>, 2010<br /><br />LaBelle goes on then to talk about what he terms the "aural warmth" which we associate with the home and its aura of safety and protection, and points out that not only is home "where the heart is" but also "where the ear is". <br /><br />LaBelle's description of the emotional needs served by the home are very easy to relate to the interviews which I conducted exploring responses to wallpaper. Participants in the project made many observations based on how wallpaper would shape the feeling of a room - reflecting LaBelle's assertion that we organise our domestic space in order to instate "a set of meaningful expressions" which literally make us feel "at home". <br /><br />I am very interested in LaBelle's observation that order and retreat are associated sonically with <span style="font-style:italic;">quiet</span>, and in terms of finding where the ear and the heart are in the home, I wonder how this idea will shape the development of Sonic Wallpaper?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmq-5Ldg9VgrY68j0thHeDaEGIF0gR5wB0IKpyeerYYyoa9GzxSYUcUqFOmaVt2ZpSi_Q_P6tm77K2Au9IWEU_HRbmecppcyBiF2ZZhn-P6vdkZH24ugk1grtOO3eNKJbcAaqE4KuV5wA/s1600/ear-wallpaper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmq-5Ldg9VgrY68j0thHeDaEGIF0gR5wB0IKpyeerYYyoa9GzxSYUcUqFOmaVt2ZpSi_Q_P6tm77K2Au9IWEU_HRbmecppcyBiF2ZZhn-P6vdkZH24ugk1grtOO3eNKJbcAaqE4KuV5wA/s400/ear-wallpaper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704155238883870850" /></a><br /><br />Thinking back to my last post - about <a href="http://sonicwallpapers.blogspot.com/2012/03/listening-at-dentists.html">the sounds at the Dentist's</a> - you may remember that in the end, it was the quiet, ambient recording of the atmosphere inside the practice which I preferred most in the context of creating sonic wallpaper? I want to evoke, imaginatively, the rooms and worlds which were conjured by interviewees when they looked at the wallpaper collection at MoDA, but I also want to work in a way which is sensitive to the ideas about society and place which LaBelle outlines in his book. <br /><br />I think there needs to be a certain quietness and length to the sonic wallpaper pieces; that as well as conjuring up many different kinds of rooms and interiors, the compositions will also have to consider the sonic context of the home. Could most of us live with the sound of an ultrasonic descaler whirring away against human teeth? However interesting that sound is? Yes? No? <span style="font-style:italic;">Maybe</span>? Or are the subtler sounds which we associate with boredom, waiting, and contemplation more appropriate both in terms of the sonic needs of domestic space, and the quietitude of wallpaper itself?Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-7267917381795878902012-03-09T01:06:00.016-08:002012-03-09T06:16:07.858-08:00Listening at the Dentist's...One of the wallpapers in the sonic wallpaper collection inspired an interviewee to say "that looks like something you'd see at the dentist's".<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioV596Xiz-gSQrif8K-HlNlu6HHufKKzDEEz6hOXYBE5d65NzofYY9CcGLboOHZzX_y4RavL3GanBNpELEJ0XyGcJfMQ90MXPBtDj9rc8EOMsgUcuLEcHyDYCRYXfQerI5Aq-pLMKeBUY/s1600/wallpaper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioV596Xiz-gSQrif8K-HlNlu6HHufKKzDEEz6hOXYBE5d65NzofYY9CcGLboOHZzX_y4RavL3GanBNpELEJ0XyGcJfMQ90MXPBtDj9rc8EOMsgUcuLEcHyDYCRYXfQerI5Aq-pLMKeBUY/s400/wallpaper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717847317828081346" /></a><br /><br />I know what they mean... many old family homes around the UK have been converted into dental practices or doctor's surgeries, and often some of the domestic furnishings, décor and architecture remain, co-existing with all the required clinical paraphernalia. What were once living rooms now house the magazines, chairs and reception windows of waiting rooms, and distinctly domestic wallpaper designs adorn many rooms now used for patient consultations.<br /><br />There is a distinctive aesthetic and soundscape associated with such converted buildings; hygienic rubber floorings laid over old wooden floorboards have an instantly recognisable squeaking-creaking sound, and the sounds of parents and children waiting together to be seen reverberate in a particular way in rooms with high ceilings. This is true of both dental practices and doctor's surgeries, however from the point of view of sound, the world of the dentist's is a field-recordist's paradise! <br /><br />Lying on your back with implements poking at your teeth, you can't help but notice the wallpaper, the old mirrors and the plaster ceiling details which bely the previous, private use of the building. <span style="font-style:italic;">Anything to keep your mind focussed away from the scratchy, whirring, drilling, suction, and other goings-on inside your mouth</span>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCogPV38_sj0Y10uOgThGpr6eIVS7mSvG3sRHczYnFrWbQH87PyB6hrtp2PJbjd29dh8TdAd0OKdn0XCWr1P5qi6qAWbtGIlj2q-FMSuB7r7vf_yPb_WujPku_RoaMU-p9eMof-jtQJ0/s1600/dentists.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCogPV38_sj0Y10uOgThGpr6eIVS7mSvG3sRHczYnFrWbQH87PyB6hrtp2PJbjd29dh8TdAd0OKdn0XCWr1P5qi6qAWbtGIlj2q-FMSuB7r7vf_yPb_WujPku_RoaMU-p9eMof-jtQJ0/s400/dentists.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717852780973900578" /></a><br /><br />Pursuing this relationship between a certain kind of mid-century wallpaper design and dental surgeries, I wrote to the <a href="http://www.bda.org/museum/">British Dental Association Museum</a> to request their help with sourcing the sounds of dentistry in action. Because of the vintage qualities of many of the wallpapers in the MoDA collection, I wanted to source slightly older dental equipment for creating the sonic wallpaper equivalent. <br /><br />I learned that many dental tools need to be plumbed and mains-powered in order to operate, so much of the equipment at the BDA Dental Museum is unsuitable for recording purposes*. To help overcome this problem, the BDA Dental Museum kindly put me in touch with Peter Frost who has been practising as a dentist for 43 years in Peckham. Frost is a specialist in special care dentistry.<br /><br />Birwood Dental Care is in the process of moving to a new building, and some of the equipment will be relocated to the BDA Dental Museum during the course of this move. I went to record the sounds of this equipment in action before it gets de-plumbed and disconnected from its mains power supply! I am guessing these are some of the dental implements which will end up at the BDA Dental Museum, as I don't think they get much use in contemporary dental practice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6eImh9DosrTmWp7dc1vZQQYet1P19KcdAVyVdh60lPJMVb13iMJ9nsu6k-aHFfKjuTADnV2DkjiOhVZLr7_kZRSC9-PEP2MmPh35i8LBzDj-E6ExdBUHE5k0jsa5jEVE2RGesHmPYRM/s1600/implements2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6eImh9DosrTmWp7dc1vZQQYet1P19KcdAVyVdh60lPJMVb13iMJ9nsu6k-aHFfKjuTADnV2DkjiOhVZLr7_kZRSC9-PEP2MmPh35i8LBzDj-E6ExdBUHE5k0jsa5jEVE2RGesHmPYRM/s400/implements2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717858518111170290" /></a><br /><br />This is the clip of the wallpaper interview which inspired my visit to Birwood Dental Care;<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704293" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704293-wallpaper-you-d-see-at-the-dentist-s.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Wallpaper+you%27d+see+at+the+Dentist%27s&mp3Time=10.40am+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704293-wallpaper-you-d-see-at-the-dentist-s&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704293" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704293-wallpaper-you-d-see-at-the-dentist-s.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Wallpaper you"d see at the Dentist"s (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />...and here are some of the sounds which I recorded there. <br /><br />The dentist's chair being lowered, raised, lifted, tilted...<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704326" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704326-dentist-s-chair.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Dentist%27s+chair&mp3Time=11.36am+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704326-dentist-s-chair&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704326" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704326-dentist-s-chair.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Dentist"s chair (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />The slow air turbine handpiece in operation...<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704339" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704339-air-turbine-handpiece.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Air+Turbine+Handpiece&mp3Time=11.45am+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704339-air-turbine-handpiece&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704339" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704339-air-turbine-handpiece.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Air Turbine Handpiece (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />The water-activated vacuum suction pump...<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704353" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704353-vacuum-suction-pump.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Vacuum+suction+pump&mp3Time=11.56am+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704353-vacuum-suction-pump&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704353" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704353-vacuum-suction-pump.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Vacuum suction pump (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />The fast turbine handpiece in action...<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704375" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704375-fast-air-turbine-handpiece.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Fast+Air+Turbine+Handpiece&mp3Time=12.14pm+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704375-fast-air-turbine-handpiece&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704375" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704375-fast-air-turbine-handpiece.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Fast Air Turbine Handpiece (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />...and the ultrasonic de-scaler in use!<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704367" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704367-ultrasonic-descaler-in-action.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Ultrasonic+descaler+in+action&mp3Time=12.04pm+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704367-ultrasonic-descaler-in-action&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704367" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704367-ultrasonic-descaler-in-action.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Ultrasonic descaler in action (mp3)</a></object><br /><br />My <span style="font-style:italic;">favourite</span> recording for the purposes of this project, however, is this rather quiet recording I made of just the ambience inside Birwood Dental Care. There is something so distinctive about this atmosphere; telephone calls; people waiting; shufflings-about inside the building; and the squeaky-creaky flooring that I referred to at the start of this post. These longer, quieter recordings are my favourite in terms of creating sonic wallpaper, because they have the same idle pace as those moments when we find our eyes inadvertently drawn to the walls and contemplating their coverings.<br /><br /><object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" height="129" id="boo_embed_704377" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="lt" /><param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704377-ambience-of-the-dental-surgery.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&mp3Title=Ambience+of+the+Dental+Surgery&mp3Time=12.18pm+09+Mar+2012&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F704377-ambience-of-the-dental-surgery&mp3Author=sonicwallpaper&rootID=boo_embed_704377" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/704377-ambience-of-the-dental-surgery.mp3?keyed=true&source=embed">Ambience of the Dental Surgery (mp3)</a></object><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei93nxLl7KhFy7paltZyOmt6037sPrUiCMLMJG-0XD9IkfM7Z_nNAafbXe8t-UzXT1ox7heWAv5FQQikW2nkUzkkA27hcJiCgOpUWJNXv7zasJEf2yXmlgLOLujqWYXeA4BMIoLgwyrc/s1600/wash-your-hands.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei93nxLl7KhFy7paltZyOmt6037sPrUiCMLMJG-0XD9IkfM7Z_nNAafbXe8t-UzXT1ox7heWAv5FQQikW2nkUzkkA27hcJiCgOpUWJNXv7zasJEf2yXmlgLOLujqWYXeA4BMIoLgwyrc/s400/wash-your-hands.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717871041725974434" /></a><br /><br />What kind of wallpaper does your dentist have, and do you notice it while you are having your teeth done? What do the above sounds make you think of?<br /><br />Many thanks to the BDA Dental Museum and to Peter Frost at Birwood Dental Care for helping with this section of the Sonic Wallpaper project! <br /><br />*<span style="font-style:italic;">although next week I will be recording Victorian foot and hand-operated drills at the BDA Museum!</span>Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-85062169807181104272012-02-02T04:16:00.000-08:002012-02-02T08:22:47.995-08:00Places and SoundsI have been immersed in listening to the wallpaper samples, and thinking about where I might record relevant sounds, and where the wallpaper samples might be displayed. The whole experience is making me think in more depth about <span style="font-style:italic;">the extreme specificity of sound</span>.<br /><br />For instance I mentioned in an earlier post, my need to identify <span style="font-style:italic;">the right kind of clock</span> to accompany a particular wallpaper. So many ideas which were discussed re: the wallpaper - the idea of repetition and delicacy in the pattern - could be sonically evoked, I felt, by finding <span style="font-style:italic;">exactly the right kind of clock tick-tocking</span>. I defined that this exact sound would need to be small and unobtrusive, yet detailed, and also warm and comforting, as these were exactly the characteristics attributed to the wallpaper design in question. I cited <a href="http://www.clockmakers.org/">The Clockmaker's Museum</a> as a potential location for exhibiting this wallpaper sample, and sourcing the distinctive clock-ticking sound which I now seek.<br /><br />It may seem that I am over-fussing the issue of what kind of clock to record, but to illustrate the massive differences between one kind of clock and another, I want to share some of the wonderful samples of clock sounds which I came across on <a href="http://www.freesound.org">Freesound.org</a>. We shall begin with this example, which was recorded by <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/reinsamba/">Reinsamba</a>.<br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.freesound.org/embed/sound/iframe/18108/simple/medium/" width="481" height="86"></iframe><br /><br />I <span style="font-style:italic;">love</span> the musical quality of this clock sound and the bouncing quality of its mechanism. It is identified as being a 1960s clock; I couldn't be that specific just from listening, but it definitely sounds different from a contemporary clock. The recording has a certain intensity about it, owing to how close the microphone seems to be to the clock; it is as though we are scrutinising the sound, and the volume is much louder than it would be if we were sat some distance away, say on an armchair a couple of metres away from the mantelpiece where I presume this clock sits. Because the microphone is so close to the clock, it is hard to picture the space around it, but the lovely detail of the sound is still very distinctive and I imagine immediately evocative for anyone who ever owned a clock which sounded precisely like this.<br /><br />Contrastingly, this recording - recorded by <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/daveincamas/">daveincamas</a> - is much more readily identifiable as being the sound of a much <span style="font-style:italic;">older</span> clock. We hear mechanisms, delicate springs, a balance of components inside the object not normally heard today. In a sound piece, it would instantly bring in an atmosphere of early 1900s or perhaps an even earlier time, and it has a slightly arcane quality about it. <br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.freesound.org/embed/sound/iframe/27086/simple/medium/" width="481" height="86"></iframe><br /><br />Suffice to say, it is insufficient for my purposes to say "I need to record the sound of a clock" when considering the way I want to develop the wallpaper interviews with sound-recordings. Where is the clock? Of what era is its mechanism? Where is the clock situated? How far should my microphone be with it? What else will we be able to hear? What purpose will the sound serve in the piece? Each layer of a sound is an extra subtext of information about place, time, and history, so that when we hear a clock we also hear the timbre of the room in which it was ticking; the kinds of materials of which it is comprised; and - to a certain extent - the era in which it was made.<br /><br />Yet in spite of this specificity of sounds, for some reason - (at least this is something which I have observed)- the notion that sound-recordings are <span style="font-style:italic;">all interchangeable</span> still pervades. I wonder if this is because of the prevalence of sound effect libraries? I have no problem with sound effects libraries <span style="font-style:italic;">at all</span>; I understand that there are complications around using recordings made in public spaces for things like film-scores, and that the ungovernable nature of many environments mean that if you want a particular sound, the best way to ensure that you capture it, is in a controlled studio setting. There is a practical problem, too, from the point of view of creating sound effects or sound tracks for films, which is <span style="font-style:italic;">background noise</span>. Precisely because of all the information which is contained in background noise, it can complicate screenplay, and "cleaner" sounds are necessary. How confusing would it be to watch a period drama, for instance, and to suddenly be aware of the sounds of 21st century traffic in the background? And where can one record anywhere in the world today without that pervasive sound of traffic, unless it is in a studio? <br /><br />I love reading the stories behind projects such as Tim Prebble's incredible <a href="http://hissandaroar.com/">Hiss and & Roar</a> sound libraries, and I learn a lot from reading Prebble's blog - especially about the craft of capturing specific sounds. But there is are massive conceptual and material differences between sounds captured or created for use in film scores, and sounds recorded to document particular times, places, circumstances and materials. To the field-recordist, the "background noise" which muddies and complicates a sound effect for use in radio, theatre or drama, is instead the soundscape, or the distinctive voice of a particular place.<br /><br />To illustrate this difference between a field-recording and a sound-effect, consider the differences between these two sound clips (found on Freesound.org also); one of which is a "bar sound effect" emulating the specific soundscape of a busy bar, and the other of which is a recording made in the particular environment of a bar in Primrose Hill, London:<br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.freesound.org/embed/sound/iframe/25452/simple/medium/" width="481" height="86"></iframe><br /><br />This clip - recorded by <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/FreqMan/">Richard Frohlich of the "<a href="http://www.texasradiotheatre.com/html/Home.htm">Texas Radio Theatre Company</a>"</a> - is a brilliant simulation of the sounds of many people talking at once in a bar. However, in the way that I am interested in using sounds, I find it rather empty of contextual information, and it is especially difficult to place the sound or to picture the environment where this soundscape exists. <br /><br />Conversely, this recording - also featuring the soundscape of a bar - was recorded by Ian Rawes of the <a href="http://www.freesound.org/people/LondonSoundSurvey/">London Sound Survey</a> - and has a much less artificial atmosphere. Cutlery clattering and the scrape of a chair somewhere infer that the space is not carpeted, and I get the sense that the bar we can hear has at least some bare floorboards and what sounds like a tall ceiling. It feels like a late lunchtime recording, because of the sounds of eating, and because of the general sense of energy in the recording; folk sound genuinely animated to my ears. <br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.freesound.org/embed/sound/iframe/98835/simple/medium/" width="481" height="86"></iframe><br /><br />The comparison is not meant to be unfair, but it is interesting to note the difference between a skillfully fabricated sound effect, and a field-recording made in a particular place, and perhaps the striking difference is the result of the respective backgrounds of the two recordists? Rawes is incredibly dedicated to linking sounds with sites; indeed the <a href="http://soundsurvey.org.uk/">London Sound Survey</a> deals precisely with this idea, detailing the sonic life of the Capital in breathtaking detail, through hundreds of carefully organised recordings. The whole point of the project is that the sounds come from London; Rawes's recordings act as sonic documents - sonic photographs if you will - of specific moments and places in the Capital. In contrast, there is something somewhat <span style="font-style:italic;">neutral</span> about Frohlich's bar sounds, and the somewhat generic quality of what he has created means it is suitable for use in other productions or projects. Rawes's recording - with its specific connections to <span style="font-style:italic;">a place</span> - is much harder to imagine using as <span style="font-style:italic;">a sound effect</span>, yet it seems to be a more complete document of place. Frohlich's recording on the other hand is a little harder to connect to a specific geography, and - for that reason - might be used in a more interchangeable way. I would also day that Frohlich's recording is "cleaner", by which I mean that what you hear is isolated from other sounds. Rawes's recording, on the other hand, does not contain one discrete sound, but the ambience that is the consequence of many sounds happening simultaneously; the collective din of a real-world place. <br /><br />I believe that both these approaches to recording sounds are related to different kinds of sonic creativity. Frohlich's speaks of bricolage, of cut-n-paste, of radio documentary, fiction, and the illusionistic art of Foley and sounds for theatre, radio, or film; Rawes's recording speaks instead of the specificity of places and sounds, and of how sounds converge in corners of the world in singularly distinctive ways. <br /><br />What I propose to do in developing the Sonic Wallpaper pieces, is something between these two creative approaches; on the one hand, I want to create sound recordings which have specific links to places, and which are very rich in the way they describe distinct locations, surfaces and objects. On the other hand, I will be <span style="font-style:italic;">collaging</span> the recordings so that their documentary power is worked into something like a fiction... or a collage.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-76264470679797392092012-01-26T06:07:00.000-08:002012-01-30T13:47:30.019-08:00Sound:Site and listsThe relationship between place and sound is an important one; just think of how different Geography lessons would be if - in learning about a new country - we heard its soundscape before looking at a paper map or a floorplan of the terrain. Sounds speak of places in a very specific kind of way; you can tell at once when listening to a sound recording whether it was made in a furnished or unfurnished space; whether or not there was electrical equipment in the space at the time; and whether the space was big or small.<br /><br />I am therefore excited that we have provisionally agreed that the wallpaper samples used in the Sonic Wallpaper project will not be presented all together as a static, touring exhibition, but rather dispersed around the city of London in a list of discrete locations, as framed exhibits to be displayed in places bearing some relationship to the sounds I am recording in response to them.<br /><br />We hope to present the wallpapers in buildings which are linked somehow with the wallpaper interviews. Ideally, places where wallpapers will be framed and exhibited will also be the recording locations for collecting the sounds associated with this project, so that the relationships between sounds and sites will be maintained and considered from the outset. <br /><br />To give an example of what I mean... in one interview, a particular wallpaper sample inspires a lovely fantasy about a dreamed-for "Writing Room". The interviewee then goes on to explore the soundworld of this room, describing a window opening to a nearby tree (where birds sing); a scratchy old inkwell and inkpen; and adventurous cats who disturb piles of parchment to dramatic, sonic effect. The interview is full of nostalgia for pre-computer times and for analogue tools; a nostalgia bought about, in part, by the faded and old-timey appearance of the wallpaper sample itself. There is also a monastic quality to the daydream inspired by this paper and the objects named in the course of the interview are simple; pens and paper, and a view to <span style="font-style:italic;">the outdoors</span>. <br /><br />In thinking about recording the sounds for this piece, I am interested in finding an environment (if it even exists today, anywhere in London) where bare floorboards, a dearth of furnishings, some creaky wood, and perhaps a clunky old casement window might be found. The sounds of an inkwell and a pen would make infinitely more sense in such a space, rather than if I recorded them in an office with thick carpets, double-glazing, and the inevitable whirring of modems, computer fans and fax machines underlying their solemn, scratchy quietness. If I could find such a place, wouldn't it be good if <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span> could see where it was, go to that place, see the wallpaper sample which lead me - ultimately - to it, and hear the conversations and wallpaper dreams which provoked that journey?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYD0WVB8zIFVeF55CXzEyky-qbemsOPYjzT6W_emjXcdGZeN0TPSYPbFtqKh3PHp1xIb2hq69NCwFbvmay5JtbHo-2GvgMAeCzbYt6AQxwlMH1wSr9cHsHU61UnNrtiBwKWwM2EH0w10/s1600/idea1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYD0WVB8zIFVeF55CXzEyky-qbemsOPYjzT6W_emjXcdGZeN0TPSYPbFtqKh3PHp1xIb2hq69NCwFbvmay5JtbHo-2GvgMAeCzbYt6AQxwlMH1wSr9cHsHU61UnNrtiBwKWwM2EH0w10/s400/idea1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702057976389070354" /></a><br /><br />Our method of display is still the subject of debate. We are wondering how visitors will access the sound-pieces. It is not practical to install players in each location, and so we are considering whether or not to use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code">QR codes</a>. If we put QR codes into the picture frames near the wallpaper samples, folks might use a smart-phone with installed bar-code-scanning-software to download the sound-pieces in situ, and hear them on their own headphones or phone speakers. We are also wondering whether or not to include a list of sounds - typed, as in the mock-up example shown above - so that some sense of the sound piece can be conveyed even if visitors have no mobile phone and software to play with. Our other idea is to create an online gallery containing all the sound pieces, so that they may be heard in advance of making a visit, or downloaded and burned onto a CD. <br /><br />QR codes: what do you think? What I like is that they mean a visitor can go to see one of the wallpaper samples and download the audio piece which goes with it right there, right then. Yet there are some real disadvantages such as loading times, the expense of downloading data using a mobile network, and the fact that not everybody is familiar with this technology. <br /><br /><a href="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffelixbadanimal%2Fsonic-wallpaper"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 195px;" src="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffelixbadanimal%2Fsonic-wallpaper" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Of course, there are a lot of additional issues to work out with this mode of presentation. What if an environment which has the perfect sounds for one of the pieces has wallpaper which would clash dreadfully with the one we want to present there?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_y0I49Iwfyqz09DPrxwDU3Mll_r4gObNgJMqCB5qJD1djS2iu0m0df9JwDrx0nvyTlPeoo0bW25-FS0IHycSlnFPkkovdUnet3mdUN3ZgPOisHiMovwb5rgBgFsiIW2bawIwY9Hke9M/s1600/idea2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_y0I49Iwfyqz09DPrxwDU3Mll_r4gObNgJMqCB5qJD1djS2iu0m0df9JwDrx0nvyTlPeoo0bW25-FS0IHycSlnFPkkovdUnet3mdUN3ZgPOisHiMovwb5rgBgFsiIW2bawIwY9Hke9M/s400/idea2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702060293016428514" /></a><br /><br />These are issues to consider as we go along, and are part and parcel of working in a site-specific way.<br /><br />For now, what this approach means is that as I am going through all the interviews, I am thinking about what the relationship will be between the <span style="font-style:italic;">sounds</span> I might record to bring the ideas discussed in the interviews alive, and about related, suitable sites where the wallpaper pieces might eventually be displayed.<br /><br />I am therefore paying very close attention to the specific words which are spoken in the interviews, and am starting to make a lot of lists like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Yellow and white paper with spool/vase design</span><br /><br />soundlist:<br /><br />white pattern - slight crackle of newspaper pages turning<br />wicker chair - creaking<br />living room - old gas fire, like very 1960s or 1970s<br />"stands the test of time" - an old clock ticking... repetition<br />spools of cotton - winding and reeling - very close-mic'd<br />loom?<br /><br />notes: the most important sound to record is going to be the clock sound; it needs to be precisely the right clock sound... <br />Also, I need some thread sounds and preferably to work with an accomplished weaver who can keep time and weave on a hand-loom.<br />This piece is all about repitition and detail and everyone notices the mathematical nature of the pattern; its rhythm, but also the fact that it is <span style="font-style:italic;">soothing</span>; sound sources need to reflect this, and also the vintage quality of the paper... vintage technology like old clocks and old gas fires will be useful for doing this.<br />The tiny, detailed nature of the patterning brings to mind the specific quality of recording items from a very closeup vantage point; in sonic <span style="font-style:italic;">detail</span>, so to speak.<br /><br />sites: <a href="http://www.clockmakers.org/">http://www.clockmakers.org/</a> and <a href="http://www.handweavers.co.uk/">http://www.handweavers.co.uk/</a><br /><br />As I make these notes and lists about what sounds to record in relation to what wallpapers, I try to envision what might happen if, for example, someone is visiting the Clockmakers' Museum or the Handweavers' studio, and sees a curious piece of framed wallpaper on the wall that doesn't <span style="font-style:italic;">quite</span> look in place. Will they ask themselves if they like the design or find it hideous? Will they notice the QR code? Will it be inviting? What will it be like to suddenly experience a little bubble of thought and sound relating to what previously looked like, well, <span style="font-style:italic;">a framed piece of wallpaper</span>?<br /><br />I also wonder if people might use an online map - in a manner a bit akin to <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">Geocaching</a> - to treat these wallpaper samples and the soundfiles which attend them as a kind of <span style="font-style:italic;">treasurehunt</span>. Either way, I hope some people will get a surprise, and that little bursts of wallpaper dreams can fill dusty corners of London with the same humour and warmth and nostalgia and home-making visions which fill the interviews themselves, and which MoDA's amazing wallpaper collection inspires.Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-65266919372766840002012-01-24T06:07:00.000-08:002012-01-24T06:39:52.941-08:00ProcessOne of the points which comes up in several of the Sonic Wallpaper interviews relates to the handmade quality of some of the wallpapers. Interviewees have commented that this handmade quality makes them think about the materials involved in producing the papers, and - by association - the feeling and atmosphere of <span style="font-style:italic;">handmade spaces</span>.<br /><br />Using woodblocks to create wallpapers today when industrial processes are cheaper and easier to access seems somewhat anachronistic, and yet in other aspects of our lives, the whole idea of 'handmade' is gaining popularity and momentum. Industrial and cheaper is increasingly viewed as not always being <span style="font-style:italic;">better</span>.<br /><br />Today I came across <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/videos/b/video-block-printed-wallpaper/">this amazing video</a> of a William Morris wallpaper being created today using woodblocks. The link came via <a href="http://www.printeresting.org/2012/01/24/block-printed-wallpaper-at-the-va-london/">Julia V Hendrickson's post</a> on the excellent <a href="http://www.printeresting.org/">Printeresting blog</a>.<br /><br />It's well worth watching to see how wallpapers were made in previous centuries, and for a little inspiration re: the materials and method of <span style="font-style:italic;">the process</span>. I imagine many of the papers in the MoDA collection have been made in a similar way but - very frustratingly (to me at least) - the V&A Museum website video doesn't contain any of the lovely sounds of woodblock printing!<br /><br />I wonder if I might gain access to this marvellous woodblock printing studio in order to collect such sounds, satisfying the curiosity of my interviewees, providing extra sonic context for some of the papers, and documenting the sounds of a creative process which might not be practiced for very much longer?Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-86753926600394195692012-01-23T05:09:00.000-08:002012-01-24T01:51:39.813-08:00Organising and Editing the Sonic Wallpaper interviewsI thought I would try to describe here the process of sorting and editing the Sonic Wallpaper interviews. I hope this will provide insights as to how the discussions about the wallpaper samples at MoDA will eventually become sound pieces.<br /><br />For editing the interviews, I am using <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html">Adobe Audition</a>. I like how I can non-destructively edit the interviews (I'll explain what I mean by that later) and create a rough edit using its Multitrack mode. I find the system very flexible for moving things around, and I appreciate the way that this programme allows you to do rough edits and extremely detailed fine-tuning, as each stage of your project requires. Now I am rough-editing; the fine-tuning of the interviews will come later.<br /><br />At this stage what I want is to have all of the clips relating to each wallpaper sample organised into groups, so that I can quickly and easily determine which of the samples have yielded the richest and best quality audio. This will help me to decide which wallpaper samples will go on to be framed and exhibited, along with their accompanying sound piece. At this stage my editing process has 2 purposes;<br /><br />1. Group all the clips relating to each wallpaper <span style="font-style:italic;">together</span> <br />2. Begin forming ideas about where the papers might best be shown, and what kinds of sounds I will need to record during the final phase of this project<br /><br />How will I do this?<br /><br />Today I began by opening my project file, a session which I have titled "All-interviews."<br /><br />At the moment it looks like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbWnPP8QivVnIMnsul5NHAtA4OYp1qAmhBMvGLNpNLTQl_iJM6xtwrAv-1CLXH8cCJK_tlQeq6P7sknejJimNxyIunE6tHvmXsy3pQLqYjp0-Erp6vbEXaub4kHz8C4F27NwbHXXuzn0/s1600/progress-diagram1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbWnPP8QivVnIMnsul5NHAtA4OYp1qAmhBMvGLNpNLTQl_iJM6xtwrAv-1CLXH8cCJK_tlQeq6P7sknejJimNxyIunE6tHvmXsy3pQLqYjp0-Erp6vbEXaub4kHz8C4F27NwbHXXuzn0/s400/progress-diagram1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700830620647107794" /></a><br /><br />What you see are several tracks of audio. The top 2 tracks are from one interview; the third and fourth layers down are from another; and the fifth line down is from the interview which I edited earlier on today. I have colour-coded all of the clips for the wallpaper samples, assigning one specific shade per wallpaper design, so that I have some way of visually arranging and grouping clips together. <br /><br />To have reached this stage, I first of all imported individual interviews into the Multitrack view, (1 interview per 2 Audio tracks). I then named each track after the person/people speaking in that particular interview. At a glance I can see whose interviews I have processed, and which ones are still waiting to be done, and by keeping different voices on different tracks, it is easy to see who is speaking at any one time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QMKPUTveygTDw0vxxwnUG2tQhi-kEUgdi3MdDcXP-5zVGAm4H7TGnaGoZ-YTRlnq8D5Q1bjpRyen_hgsVJvEQBj0yZWWI9-g_jJ059_htFKG0hITFHdoQ4TvqSroZgzPXSZMws_AWp4/s1600/progress-diagram2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QMKPUTveygTDw0vxxwnUG2tQhi-kEUgdi3MdDcXP-5zVGAm4H7TGnaGoZ-YTRlnq8D5Q1bjpRyen_hgsVJvEQBj0yZWWI9-g_jJ059_htFKG0hITFHdoQ4TvqSroZgzPXSZMws_AWp4/s400/progress-diagram2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700832538957255906" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdtczASEgWCOS6ndp39q-qLRX-B2SRVw3W7Eki04oUy9XviSZW3aPV6GkaxJQdSg81jxJHn4I0_RCYCL6VtX2-3P7peYR9q97wU6_6GFAuT9pgIOe0mVLbbtFIjeSH_FNHE03GmmszQA/s1600/progress-diagram3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdtczASEgWCOS6ndp39q-qLRX-B2SRVw3W7Eki04oUy9XviSZW3aPV6GkaxJQdSg81jxJHn4I0_RCYCL6VtX2-3P7peYR9q97wU6_6GFAuT9pgIOe0mVLbbtFIjeSH_FNHE03GmmszQA/s400/progress-diagram3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700833098407494674" /></a><br /><br />You'll notice that when an interview is first brought into the Multitrack view, it is all one colour and just looks like a giant waveform. In that state, it is very difficult to use; there is no way of telling - at a glance - which section of that long, rambling conversation relates to which piece of wallpaper. In order to begin clarifying what's what, I begin by muting all the tracks above, so that I am just listening to a single track, containing the new, imported audio.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvlsgDKG-M-ziV1D66UkAq7Yb6V7uaNMg3AIzbUvFQ0FEdzjaYCzIH_6Dt-myrPtLHjaO9RE0h2ZkGaoVDBvHezujC3O9xpJkZy1r7_xuM2MUTl_xKH3whk5IZ9_RETBLSJACKaege5g/s1600/process-diagram4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvlsgDKG-M-ziV1D66UkAq7Yb6V7uaNMg3AIzbUvFQ0FEdzjaYCzIH_6Dt-myrPtLHjaO9RE0h2ZkGaoVDBvHezujC3O9xpJkZy1r7_xuM2MUTl_xKH3whk5IZ9_RETBLSJACKaege5g/s400/process-diagram4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700833803460863090" /></a><br /><br />As I listen, a very precise white cursor travels over the soundwave, and I can zoom in or zoom out to get a closer look at the sound signal. With this particular example, at this point in listening, I realise that everything to the left of the cursor is just me introducing the project, chattering away at <a href="http://www.rusinurbis.com">Colleen</a> and Annie, and rustling about as I begin taking wallpapers out to show them. I do not need any of this audio of me just banging on about the project; what I want to keep is people's natural responses to the wallpapers. So as my bit of introductory guff is coming to a close, I stop the cursor and press Ctrl+K, which splits the clip. I can then just delete the unwanted audio of me talking and banging around with the wallpapers from the Multitrack view. What is great, however, is that if I decide in the future that actually I want some of my rambling or wallpaper-rustling back in, then I haven't deleted it from the original file, just from this Multitrack mix. Does that make sense? I have excised the unnecessary audio from the track without actually destroying it, and that is the beauty of non-destructive editing.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2hU_pY4GjVCsY-78I8apNRo9qfzZDajd2C35WguSHnlrkkUuDAjwV1AgMlvNWA-H7Ax3IBgzlaaMSUxPQ9uFhGTIIrPrG7CURB1uXrN4yI5NiG9b87s3ErmenwYPUuPnUt8hw7K1T8Q/s1600/process-diagram5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2hU_pY4GjVCsY-78I8apNRo9qfzZDajd2C35WguSHnlrkkUuDAjwV1AgMlvNWA-H7Ax3IBgzlaaMSUxPQ9uFhGTIIrPrG7CURB1uXrN4yI5NiG9b87s3ErmenwYPUuPnUt8hw7K1T8Q/s400/process-diagram5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700835363659076002" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGmfGqL6MfXmhNAJhREuBR9pouftMvi8UINyq0FS08e-rWLimLhX9etUiKIJK3Yhe7R8GPWly6dL8OLbk6i1XJfh5Tha8tjSkWVVq6ClXs5Sds33soXF_nlfYKADCq7gpZrwr9Lpso-o/s1600/process-diagram6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGmfGqL6MfXmhNAJhREuBR9pouftMvi8UINyq0FS08e-rWLimLhX9etUiKIJK3Yhe7R8GPWly6dL8OLbk6i1XJfh5Tha8tjSkWVVq6ClXs5Sds33soXF_nlfYKADCq7gpZrwr9Lpso-o/s400/process-diagram6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700835794224950898" /></a><br /><br />I continue listening, and realise that the next section relates to a particular wallpaper design. I listen through to that, and I split the clip at the end, so that it is now a discrete little snippet of sound. I'm not going to do a precision-edit on it at this stage, but I <span style="font-style:italic;">will</span> assign it a specific colour, so that it can be put with other people's discussions of that design. To do this, I check my private notes about the wallpaper designs to find the right colour. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs53xx4ZyGS5vAYtAo5t15f3i2xyQtHGAGFxAaPGwSFGxJ1pzr2c_y_jG7qtfkMtzkWU_u_NxE3UgZaUmnwCjOF071QXYUT1_9wxX4t-Iv_yRdrH4dvFQ6bH1FR_lNmlAB1wfnr2rV0MI/s1600/process-diagram7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs53xx4ZyGS5vAYtAo5t15f3i2xyQtHGAGFxAaPGwSFGxJ1pzr2c_y_jG7qtfkMtzkWU_u_NxE3UgZaUmnwCjOF071QXYUT1_9wxX4t-Iv_yRdrH4dvFQ6bH1FR_lNmlAB1wfnr2rV0MI/s400/process-diagram7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700838063546680690" /></a><br /><br />You'll notice that I have given all the papers descriptive terms which I can remember, and which do not necessarily relate to the formal names of any of the papers! The naming of the papers - although it might not be best-practice from a traditional conservation point of view - is an important stage in terms of developing the sound pieces which will go with the samples. <br /><br />The names reflect the character that different designs have taken on through the interview process; "blue/white starburst", "nervous system" and "sea-creature-purple-ness" are names derived from things people have said, from ideas and flights of fancy inspired by looking at wallpapers. Consulting the list, I see that the clip-colour I have assigned to the wallpaper design currently being discussed in the audio is 154, and so - having neatly isolated this segment of conversation from the rest of the audio using the Ctrl+K command - I now colour that clip with 154.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSPNWcmHjlGspqSektlknTjFUiPw4qXOROpSBA5j7jarOe8GjvPK3NI2vDXZdHl19wsqgBHUqH9IYg1-VGWOH5qvC1L7UBAJxdepwGaTS4BwURWUx_F9nB0IqI_nnoDwidM2EYNsFoR4/s1600/process-diagram8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSPNWcmHjlGspqSektlknTjFUiPw4qXOROpSBA5j7jarOe8GjvPK3NI2vDXZdHl19wsqgBHUqH9IYg1-VGWOH5qvC1L7UBAJxdepwGaTS4BwURWUx_F9nB0IqI_nnoDwidM2EYNsFoR4/s400/process-diagram8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700838760967808706" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s88wS1snJAZGe9ObZ9u8kQy6Ae5jfJ_NnNbJcFBPnZVaxacSsvUvdMO9uiGKW_5MswLSxzE_pfEnN3XuUq4DbYly6pQLgb_30igSE8MOflbV0Nu6udlTSaoFRhG5wUt2t_zvXxiz5n8/s1600/process-diagram9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s88wS1snJAZGe9ObZ9u8kQy6Ae5jfJ_NnNbJcFBPnZVaxacSsvUvdMO9uiGKW_5MswLSxzE_pfEnN3XuUq4DbYly6pQLgb_30igSE8MOflbV0Nu6udlTSaoFRhG5wUt2t_zvXxiz5n8/s400/process-diagram9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700838872787962082" /></a><br /><br />When I have gone through the entire interview, splitting and colouring every section in this way and cutting out anything which is unusable, I will have something resembling the fourth layer down; a long stretch of audio, cut up and coloured into different shades. Next, I shall match up the different sections with the sections above, putting like with like, so that all the audio relating to each wallpaper sample gets grouped together. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebxJJVt0LRGkfBJmkOjT9XVBcfXyqrM3meLF4TicftrmUGebMw1bmRC5JsO359gLsCK8Y3esfI0N4Z2HefX9g82b6hQvGEWqn8IsTT1-SqMpvBTa_X3lAP6dcxVVd9efxubV4xiHH2Rk/s1600/process-diagram10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebxJJVt0LRGkfBJmkOjT9XVBcfXyqrM3meLF4TicftrmUGebMw1bmRC5JsO359gLsCK8Y3esfI0N4Z2HefX9g82b6hQvGEWqn8IsTT1-SqMpvBTa_X3lAP6dcxVVd9efxubV4xiHH2Rk/s400/process-diagram10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700839821771819842" /></a><br /><br />It takes time, and a lot of shuffling around... and at times it feels a bit like doing one of those impossible jigsaw puzzles. Some of the shades are very close together, so clips must sometimes be heard through a couple of times to make sure they are in the right place, with other clips relating to the same design...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rtDdTZqPZw3TV5CHQLiiKIYJdR4oPp0s-khVxXXFL-0QhZqcL0jEUipuPBiKqtvyDucv7GAt5tn0AYfq34-hiQZzaF0HU-VN32LQU6Cmte1M9pN259KyXLGzP4VMYv6CqVrEfzIxwlk/s1600/process-diagram11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rtDdTZqPZw3TV5CHQLiiKIYJdR4oPp0s-khVxXXFL-0QhZqcL0jEUipuPBiKqtvyDucv7GAt5tn0AYfq34-hiQZzaF0HU-VN32LQU6Cmte1M9pN259KyXLGzP4VMYv6CqVrEfzIxwlk/s400/process-diagram11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700847002249916674" /></a><br /><br />...but these segments - these snippets of sound being heard and re-heard as they get moved around - are <span style="font-style:italic;">giving me ideas</span>. <br /><br />"it reminds me of my Grandmother's House" "it makes me feel sick" "it reminds me of my brother's matchbox car" "that one says 1970s carpet to me" "that one reminds me of a jewellery box and the sounds of the pearls sliding through your fingers" "I would have that on the end wall of an indoor swimming pool"<br /><br />In this way, the editing process has an important, imaginative role in the development of the project. It is not only a process of clinically organising the interviews into manageable chunks, but <span style="font-style:italic;">also</span> a process of fantasising and extrapolating; of "auralising", if that can be a word. As I listen and shuffle, I am quietly compiling a list of the sounds which might be recorded for this project, to contextualise and augment interviewees' comments on MoDA's wallpaper collection.<br /><br />Things I could record: Aquariums, swimming pools, heavy costume jewellery, fuzzy felt and velcro, the ambience in an Indian Restaurant, the sounds of creaky old stairs, an owl in a tree; a very old set of stairs; jellyfish in the London Aquarium (would that even make a sound?) <br /><br />People's words in my ears give rise to sonic pictures, and so although the process of organising the interviews is visually a little monotonous (even with the colours) putting them in order is <span style="font-style:italic;">essential</span> to the thinking process that accompanies the creation of Sonic Wallpapers.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwQuLNKcCrmBsYOQOx4tMOXF4tnhnrI0UsA7G3XOFazz8xoQZE2NdWanUu9dYUVRhzH0jeJBw2OAQlpHFbumUSuickO5mYuAAXNToN3kHzyDt-MHOOpAt0rcAfbMWl7WddktOfTnmSWk/s1600/process-diagram12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwQuLNKcCrmBsYOQOx4tMOXF4tnhnrI0UsA7G3XOFazz8xoQZE2NdWanUu9dYUVRhzH0jeJBw2OAQlpHFbumUSuickO5mYuAAXNToN3kHzyDt-MHOOpAt0rcAfbMWl7WddktOfTnmSWk/s400/process-diagram12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700845844271054066" /></a><br /><br />Practically speaking, once the sections are organised into groups so that all the clips relating to one design are together, I can export one giant wav-file of the whole project, and then cut this up into even tinier pieces, so that at the end, all the chaff is gone, and we are left with the kernels - the good wheat - of the interviews. I will then take these words, and record sounds with which to contextualise them, so that some of the richness of what is imagined when we consult old wallpapers - memories, associations, dreams of home and domestic creativity - might be transmitted to <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span> in sound.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUXhxICB0PC5Ivna21XhLiRpJK-Fux3BKGtNAm032ldTgWEOEZbyXvhHY1rkN2Ow2PrGMamTPfDraA7HIDRZaN1bdovBVAERv5yBtY3G7fsjF8FEds9WQyH8rjkl-ws-3q5pI0KC3DZI/s1600/process-diagram13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUXhxICB0PC5Ivna21XhLiRpJK-Fux3BKGtNAm032ldTgWEOEZbyXvhHY1rkN2Ow2PrGMamTPfDraA7HIDRZaN1bdovBVAERv5yBtY3G7fsjF8FEds9WQyH8rjkl-ws-3q5pI0KC3DZI/s400/process-diagram13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700848693624994418" /></a><br /><br />...At least that is the theory.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdu66aFEuVi8bqZiJGdcRifKtc5485_dV0m4iWyMciWCo0v8IiaUDwnwQpHrZTWq2fx4P7VPK-RRtghAB0TdNChSwa16MVgSZHJKROuEEfiorFsrk18D2I25WJw9i0QWDI7sfmkg0pyk/s1600/process-diagram14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdu66aFEuVi8bqZiJGdcRifKtc5485_dV0m4iWyMciWCo0v8IiaUDwnwQpHrZTWq2fx4P7VPK-RRtghAB0TdNChSwa16MVgSZHJKROuEEfiorFsrk18D2I25WJw9i0QWDI7sfmkg0pyk/s400/process-diagram14.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700856481344668914" /></a><br /><br />I would love to hear the experiences of other artists working with sound; how do you find the editing process? How important is editing to the development of an idea? How do you work with sounds/ideas when you are sorting through a whole load of audio?Felicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-20141506082386879712012-01-19T03:41:00.000-08:002012-01-23T04:59:59.273-08:00Editing notesI am currently spending a lot of time walking and listening, and editing and listening. <br /><br />This is what I can see when I am editing:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3f0Dh628dy_cRZDpN1ArSypfVwGrgLiF9koRrskMrT2WSLfcZa5UablBNFR72gFnR0AZtj72POyYTGWKeJ_nDMQ3BJatUQjrscOiEVXqIo5aT3WYHsYYqxvQgs7EZFnMTDEYDPw8Yuc/s1600/editing-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3f0Dh628dy_cRZDpN1ArSypfVwGrgLiF9koRrskMrT2WSLfcZa5UablBNFR72gFnR0AZtj72POyYTGWKeJ_nDMQ3BJatUQjrscOiEVXqIo5aT3WYHsYYqxvQgs7EZFnMTDEYDPw8Yuc/s400/editing-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699313512396330194" /></a><br /><br />...and today, this is what I can hear: <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F33870802"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F33870802" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/felixbadanimal/sonic-wallpaper-sample-1">Sonic Wallpaper Sample #1</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/felixbadanimal">FelicityVFord</a></span> <br /><br />The words and thoughts of the interviewee make me think of the sounds of:<br /><br />small rooms<br />creaky chairs<br />harp-strings<br />the sound of a tissue-box guitar, made with rubber bands<br />looms clacking<br /><br />...all organised into a repetitive, minimalist composition. Lots of little sounds, repeated over and over, in a calming yet quite busy sequence. What sounds does this interviewee put into your head?<br /><br />And which of the papers below do you think this small soundbyte relates to? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu58-Ax-iD0Gg2afds3JkTkTTdAmVVR45borIS9t9lEAF3tfGEv4RoX7w7ddcTAIs4QZ2wyWA6hdw8P5wc6AJOFY3t2WTObSKmB44zES9bGBkfun5IhllB_pSfSufbrUCzclQqnQqP23s/s1600/editing2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu58-Ax-iD0Gg2afds3JkTkTTdAmVVR45borIS9t9lEAF3tfGEv4RoX7w7ddcTAIs4QZ2wyWA6hdw8P5wc6AJOFY3t2WTObSKmB44zES9bGBkfun5IhllB_pSfSufbrUCzclQqnQqP23s/s400/editing2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699316680976766354" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22qB4FiMHivBSSk1z9hbDliyd5ChkhWXz5AmKadTNhBiSPPIzO0ew0KIhSaM_VlHFLN0oUXqe1GFBJX4zzvud39ysAn0lSb8v2unLbINWiXiHgAzfkEuG8e5HuYedZdT6_fY8mL5oT98/s1600/editing-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22qB4FiMHivBSSk1z9hbDliyd5ChkhWXz5AmKadTNhBiSPPIzO0ew0KIhSaM_VlHFLN0oUXqe1GFBJX4zzvud39ysAn0lSb8v2unLbINWiXiHgAzfkEuG8e5HuYedZdT6_fY8mL5oT98/s400/editing-3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699317057030057330" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB0cbZ85LOikOcqXSsZ9y2X9au7jc0NtCC28IsxsBjszKdqp6nMFzmgOJR2hhHxozbrGOqETh3VjCcspOurFanFqvpg3dYdnMkbdg2SeWl4Z_uVPItBykDwVCAQKjCLmQyGfHmzg-92Y/s1600/editing-4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWB0cbZ85LOikOcqXSsZ9y2X9au7jc0NtCC28IsxsBjszKdqp6nMFzmgOJR2hhHxozbrGOqETh3VjCcspOurFanFqvpg3dYdnMkbdg2SeWl4Z_uVPItBykDwVCAQKjCLmQyGfHmzg-92Y/s400/editing-4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699317385142036098" /></a><br /><br />Wallpapers, shortlisted for Sonic Wallpaper interviews. Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity FordFelicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7811275082879973036.post-19859378727869942062011-11-29T00:12:00.000-08:002011-11-29T03:20:44.888-08:00Talking about WallpaperConducting the interviews for the Sonic Wallpaper project was a rich and thought-provoking process. I am grateful to everyone who participated and shared their responses to the wallpapers I'd short-listed from the MoDA collection <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwEHKAS1CNEC_2FiUxGNhNfp91BHzLbGLqPyRXfkF5Igs6-22du1d_a6Yr2IlhncTCTVZ3fNDma1HMmA6DvLbC-tMVdWFnRDUwJ8KoE8GPFGqET4bhwsXcI8W-gN1WTVbhDI0C9VcF00/s1600/colleen-annie-felix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwEHKAS1CNEC_2FiUxGNhNfp91BHzLbGLqPyRXfkF5Igs6-22du1d_a6Yr2IlhncTCTVZ3fNDma1HMmA6DvLbC-tMVdWFnRDUwJ8KoE8GPFGqET4bhwsXcI8W-gN1WTVbhDI0C9VcF00/s400/colleen-annie-felix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680348029396024850" /></a><br />Annie, Colleen and Felicity discussing wallpaper at MoDA; image © Richard Lumb and used with the permission of MoDA<br /><br />I learnt through the interviews that when we discuss wallpaper in terms of atmospheres and memories - and not purely in terms of designs, fashion and history - powerful narratives emerge. The agency, imagination and creativity of the <span style="font-style:italic;">home-maker</span> become apparent when he/she is presented with wallpapers and combines this with their experiences of homes and rooms and life lived therein. Through a process of considering and responding to wallpapers, a design which at first glance appeared bland or unassuming became a canvas on which to project the memories of a flat once lived in; a forest-like pattern inspired fantasies involving woodland and the quiet stillness of a chilly Autumn morning; a psychedelic print evoked the vision of a party where everyone is a bit shallow and stylishly posed; and bold, blousy flowers inspired a discussion on showing off, intimidation and social-climbing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YkJb4D4theWZziwcb8VhAgrSapJM4APjMfqalqQ9CldxOMd4FaiVyCk2cWFqeSTfjTFwAkWPeqN1EXH4L81OfB2DsLj7KEJegE2HS-wzaRWE_bhmSzvS0cyFiJltle9nbg9Pk1mwewQ/s1600/wallpapers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YkJb4D4theWZziwcb8VhAgrSapJM4APjMfqalqQ9CldxOMd4FaiVyCk2cWFqeSTfjTFwAkWPeqN1EXH4L81OfB2DsLj7KEJegE2HS-wzaRWE_bhmSzvS0cyFiJltle9nbg9Pk1mwewQ/s400/wallpapers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680349687645739090" /></a><br />Wallpapers, shortlisted for Sonic Wallpaper interviews. Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford<br /><br />As we talked, the pile of wallpapers became a repository of domestic dreaming, memories, wishes, observations, and polemic. Mundane memories were also evoked; the recollection of an irritating paper which wouldn't hold the wallpaper paste properly surfaced, along with another person's nightmarish memory of trying to scrape <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artex">Artex</a> off a ceiling. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgyQGj1m55nDh8Tpktgz5pjOu5pLbPHWHaVTkU-OrVzklSWlZ_BRT0VoIjBJnyj-XRD7mHzfIFGi0y9usgzlZbSCHue_Q7qJIubMdBjBtWwXLPrjAVfOGNvDG30pY1wlyt5gka4YE2UM/s1600/joceline.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgyQGj1m55nDh8Tpktgz5pjOu5pLbPHWHaVTkU-OrVzklSWlZ_BRT0VoIjBJnyj-XRD7mHzfIFGi0y9usgzlZbSCHue_Q7qJIubMdBjBtWwXLPrjAVfOGNvDG30pY1wlyt5gka4YE2UM/s400/joceline.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680369795550788226" /></a><br />Joceline considering wallpaper at MoDA; image © Richard Lumb and used with the permission of MoDA<br /><br />Exploring MoDA's wallpapers also revealed desires for certain kinds of domestic spaces. Yearnings were exposed for spaces such as a garden room where there are plants and light to sit amongst; a room specifically allocated for the creation of chutneys and preserves; and a writing attic, where inkwells, pens and crisp cartridge paper a stacked inside a bureau. These longings were detailed, rich, complex and imaginative, connecting a sense of self with the organisation of domestic space.<br /><br />I was amazed by how exploring the wallpapers at MoDA through the Sonic Wallpaper interview process frequently transgressed from a discussion re: wallpaper into questions concerning lifestyles and domestic activities. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mo7hXjaJr7n-NJAMAj_BYchBdfoPoO24IWO476hvWYMtpEW9eUPQTh0EVtIK7-fAzr_rUYpEG0sSwzUyhq7vi09OhcDyGSrOZvEvhiaICFGUA5oGeM3Z6vG2t9yN_XCM7E-BusfDj14/s1600/tom-and-paper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mo7hXjaJr7n-NJAMAj_BYchBdfoPoO24IWO476hvWYMtpEW9eUPQTh0EVtIK7-fAzr_rUYpEG0sSwzUyhq7vi09OhcDyGSrOZvEvhiaICFGUA5oGeM3Z6vG2t9yN_XCM7E-BusfDj14/s400/tom-and-paper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680361577693578306" /></a><br />Tom consulting the wallpapers. Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford<br /><br />The next phase of the Sonic Wallpaper project will involve developing these narratives through sound, to create Sonic Wallpaper. Interviews will be edited and developed into sound pieces so that the thoughts and spaces imagined by interviewees can be conveyed to new audiences, and used to add depth and fresh perspectives to a touring exhibition of MoDA's wallpapers. I am very excited about this phase of the project and about translating the rituals of home-decorating into audible content and wallpaper you can listen to!<br /><br />Sound can describe memories, eras, times and spaces in ways that pictures and images <span style="font-style:italic;">can't</span>. While you can look at a floorplan or indeed a sheet of wallpaper and "visualise" how a space will appear, it is only when you <span style="font-style:italic;">hear</span> a recording of walking through the space papered with it that you might begin to understand how air and molecules resonate within that space, or even how long the experience of walking through it might take. <br /><br />Memories can be contained in the passing minutes and hours that a sound-recording captures. You can look at something in the blink of an eye but the blink of an ear is slower and we do not hear in snapshots. Soundwaves move from wall to wall inside our living rooms, capturing the size and depth of those spaces, the quantity and nature of the furnishings within and so on. So my challenge now is to conjure - in sound - the rooms, spaces and atmospheres which my interviewees have described, through a series of field-recording exercises, so that their descriptions relate to a Sonic Wallpaper or a Sonic sense of space, and not merely to wallpaper as a visually-designed aspect of home-decorating. <br /><br />Some people describe imaginative listening as a process of "auralisation," an aural equivalent to "visualisation," whereby we imagine places acoustically, rather than picturing them. I like that idea. I look forward to listening to and recording such things as the drips of moisture falling inside a conservatory; the round, glassy sounds of stacking jars against one another on a sturdy wooden shelf; and the delicate, wet scratchings of a pen against paper in a tiny attic. There will be other sounds, other spaces to "auralise" and they will be revealed in little glimpses here, throughout coming weeks.<br /><br />The next phase of the project will involve my putting all our conversations onto my iPod, and walking around for days at a time listening over and over to the interviews. I shall reach for the ear's imagination, and try to imagine the soundscapes attending my interviewees' fancies and discussions regarding domestic space. The wallpapers which end up in the final MoDA collection will be selected according to the Sonic Wallpapers which they have inspired, and the experience we create for exhibition-goers will be led by this, rather than by a desire to showcase <span style="font-style:italic;">the most arresting visual designs</span>. <br /><br />That was the most interesting revelation from the Sonic Wallpaper interviews; I learnt that the most arresting visual designs are perhaps not always the most interesting from the perspective of how we imagine and consider and remember and create our domestic spaces. It is the creativity of the home-maker and the imagination of the resident in domestic space which I hope to reflect in my Sonic Wallpaper designs, because those rich things are what you find when you scratch the surface of wallpaper and search for what is underneath, and they - for me - are best described in <span style="font-style:italic;">sound</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-CQIC83EsKFeuKNER32Q7pLjazOd_2h6Gg9Yns_MeiZSYvICzVaRtCB-VEX3wR6dKxWwGt4KKCx1CyLhQmjDb_Wiqam6GxAUu_pVrNSiP4Yj9Oc3hlWdKNXP5uErwMrR5uuIokPtorE/s1600/tom-anthony-papers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-CQIC83EsKFeuKNER32Q7pLjazOd_2h6Gg9Yns_MeiZSYvICzVaRtCB-VEX3wR6dKxWwGt4KKCx1CyLhQmjDb_Wiqam6GxAUu_pVrNSiP4Yj9Oc3hlWdKNXP5uErwMrR5uuIokPtorE/s400/tom-anthony-papers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680373349277973442" /></a><br />Tom and Anthony with their favourite wallpaper designs, respectively to decorate The Study, and The Beatnik Bedroom. Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity FordFelicity Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17914100900983932997noreply@blogger.com0