(Short-listed but not selected for installation)
Canadian composer, writer, educator, and environmentalist, R. Murray Schafer, is well known for his statement “We have no ear lids, we are condemned to listen... Sound gets to places where sight cannot. Sound plunges below the surface. Sound penetrates to the heart of things” (2009).
“Sound penetrates to the heart of things” is a statement that rings true on so many levels. Sound can tell us so much about where we are... and who we are. The sounds of our neighbourhoods carry stories on the wind, but are we listening.
“Sensitive, active listening is exceedingly rare in our lives.
We think we listen but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy.
Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.”
CARL RODGERS, 1980 (20th century Psychologist)
LOCKE STREET PUBLIC ART PROPOSAL | CONCEPT STATEMENT
HEAR HERE
HEAR HERE
BY: TONY VIEIRA & ROBERT DEIESO
(Image renderings by Robert DeIeso)
“Now I wish to speak of sounds. The world is full of sounds.
I cannot speak of them all. I shall speak of sounds that matter.
To speak of sounds, I make sounds.”
I cannot speak of them all. I shall speak of sounds that matter.
To speak of sounds, I make sounds.”
R. MURRAY SCHAFER, 2005
This project will be a glistening listening sculpture.
The aesthetic design of the Hear Here sculpture is intended to evoke the idea of listening, while its physical functionality will allow pedestrians to engage in the act of listening. The shape of the large south-facing horn is designed to at once resemble the bell of a trumpet and a gramophone horn, paying homage to the musical history of the city of Hamilton while facing the natural beauty of the Niagara Escarpment as a reminder for the listener to attend to the sounds of the natural world. The three additional listening bells point downward in an e!ort to allow individuals of di!erent heights and physical abilities to listen to one another and to the sounds of Locke Street. This public art sculpture will also allow the audience to become the art, as they take turns speaking, singing or whispering into the bells while others become audience members of a unique, placemaking sound experience.
The aesthetic design of the Hear Here sculpture is intended to evoke the idea of listening, while its physical functionality will allow pedestrians to engage in the act of listening. The shape of the large south-facing horn is designed to at once resemble the bell of a trumpet and a gramophone horn, paying homage to the musical history of the city of Hamilton while facing the natural beauty of the Niagara Escarpment as a reminder for the listener to attend to the sounds of the natural world. The three additional listening bells point downward in an e!ort to allow individuals of di!erent heights and physical abilities to listen to one another and to the sounds of Locke Street. This public art sculpture will also allow the audience to become the art, as they take turns speaking, singing or whispering into the bells while others become audience members of a unique, placemaking sound experience.
Hear Here is both a sculpture and an imagination machine. The act of listening is incredibly potent, yet often neglected, as we are overwhelmingly seduced by the sense of sight. Beyond the aesthetic qualities of this sculpture, it will provide an opportunity to stop and listen; something that in this frenetic world we rarely take the time to do. Developing better listening skills can help us to be more mindful, empathetic, and compassionate.
