Audio Portrait Link

Blog 2: What I Hear (Soundwalk)

As I walk through my neighborhood of Bushwick, there are always a few sounds that make up the noises that I constantly hear in the distance that I sometimes just forget are even there unless I really pay close attention. Sounds like car alarms and the sirens of ambulances(I live near a hospital), are constant throughout the day. I grew up right next to a fire station as a kid, so I tend to forget how noise polluting sirens really even are because they're so normal to me and in a funny way they're almost comforting. As I exit my building and walk south, I hear my neighbor's television turned up quite loudly so that even down on street level across the street, I can make out every word of the soap opera they're watching. Off in the distance I hear the sounds of busy construction. I'm not actually sure where it's coming from because there's currently so much construction happening. The doors to my local laundry mat are always open and the muffled sounds of swooshing, churning clothes and the hum of dryers in the back of the place can be heard as I walk past. There's the light clinking sounds of a dog leash as a woman walks by me while walking her dog. It's not a loud or annoying sound but almost pleasant in it's constantly clinking way. I hear the sounds a broom brushing up against the sidewalk of an older gentleman trying to sweep the fallen leaves away from in front of his building.As I continue walking I pass Maria Hernandez Park, and hear the voices of dozens of kids. The elementary school across the street doesn't have a playground attached to it so all the classes walk across the street to play here instead. Running around the park, playing baskets ball; all different voices coming together to make a mass of sound that you can't really pick apart to hear one distinct voice unless you're really focusing hard. I hear the soft thumping of paws on sand as a group of dogs run around in the dog park portion of the park and the quiet chatter of the owners all standing around watching their dogs enjoy their little bit of freedom off a leash. Some noises like the sounds of dogs paws in the dog park and the sirens of ambulances are tied to specific places while other noises like are constantly moving and getting louder and quieter as they move like the sounds of ridiculously loud latin music being blared from cars as they cruise through the neighborhood. None of these sounds are in any way unique to here and only here but they all come together to make the sounds of an active and lively neighborhood. Bushwick is a neighborhood through and through and the sounds reflect that in every way.

Artist Statement

I am a child of the Internet age. I had my first email by kindergarten. I was always sort of just given technology and allowed to figure it out for myself especially since my dad is a mostly self taught software programmer and former website engineer. I never had cable tv or video games but I always had a computer and the programs to make stuff with. Nowadays I occasionally make stuff with computers mainly in programs like Illustrator, Indesign, and sometimes Photoshop. I’ve spent far more time drawing monsters in Illustrator than any person really should. Most of my work tends to be light-hearted and fun. There are times when I find that people take art and media pieces way too seriously and try and find deeper meaning and bullshit like symbolism in them. Perhaps the artist just wanted to have fun and make art without trying to give it labels and pointless symbolism. I’d much rather do art for fun and for myself than take it to extreme in all seriousness.

I don’t even try and take myself seriously when it comes to art. I don’t even really consider myself an artist to be quite honest or even have any self confidence in my  artistic skills. I’m a double major in both Media Studies and Studio Art but I’m only that because I wanted to take a bunch of art classes and since I couldn’t minor in it, I figured I might as well major in it. I enjoy the many ways that art and the media so often intertwine and converge. I’m not even sure what sort of job I want after college but somewhere where media and art converge and intertwine sounds like a good place to start for me.

I’ve come to realize that right now with the current ever changing state of technology and media that I’d rather be a jack of all trades than spend my life with only one skill doing the same task over and over again. It’s getting harder and harder to know just one thing and not be expected to know a lot about a lot of things and that’s especially true right now in both the media production world as well as the art world. I'm not sure where I'll end up in a few years but that's okay with me.