Meet the artist/designer Michael Schoner of NL Architects in the Netherlands (Amsterdam). He’s the creator of this amazing piece of outdoor furniture–the Boom Bench.

Michael re-worked the idea of a street bench into a work of public art capable of reflecting and amplifying the tastes, interests and personalities of those who have access to it. The Boom Bench has been described as “a regular piece of street furniture [turned] into a sound system.” Michael’s described it as a super-sized Docking Station. I’ll let him speak for himself:

“The Boom Bench features eight 60-watt co-axial speakers and two subwoofers that can be accessed through Bluetooth. Connect your player to the amplifier and take control. Now you can play your music with 95 dB high quality sound. A Bass Shaker in the seat transforms the deep sounds into vibrations that enhance the physical sensation of your tunes. Playing loud music in public will either attract or repel people. The music extends you personality onto the streets. As such it will shape the place. It is a showing off and putting yourself on the stage. Either you start an instant party or mark your territory. The music acts as an acoustic sign.”

Michael told me that the idea for the bench came out of putting a couple of observations together–that teenagers would congregate around benches near their homes and play music from their cell phones. They didn’t have boom boxes to take outside (like in the old days–if you’re old enough to remember) and they didn’t have the space to play their music loud or share it with each other in their families’ homes. Go here to read more about his democratic bench (especially the hilarious Celine Dion story he recounts there).

How’d I find out about Michael’s work? Through project research about how sound shapes space. That notion came up in conversations related to a grant proposal I was preparing for Locally Toned. The first glimmer of that idea came from a comment that the designer and PhD candidate Scott Davidoff shared with me: “Someone like my mother wouldn’t completely understand your project unless there was video documentation to show her what happens when the tones go off in public.” He was so right. How do I capture that experience/arrange for that sort of video documentation?

I mentioned Scott’s comment to another mentor/project adviser, Marge Myers, she said, “Yes, what happens when the tones go off in public? How do the ringtones shape or affect the space or sphere in which they’re played? Notions of unexpected place and timing are interesting to think about in relation to your work…”

After talking with Marge, I went straight home and googled “how does sound shape public space.” Presto! I found this .pdf called Can Sound Shape the Public Space? uploaded by NL Architects. The document includes writing about (and links to) other projects and products that embodied this concept. So I wrote to the firm to thank them for posting that research and asked if anyone at the firm would allow me to talk with them about the idea of how sound shapes space.

The firm wrote back (!), said they were delighted to hear I found their essay, and suggested I speak with Michael Schoner, who designed the Boom Bench. Then Michael sent me a note (!). He mentioned that the sonic cannon ringtone made him feel extremely nervous and that he’d be happy to talk. Here follows our Q&A:

Teresa Foley (TF): You’re sensitive to audio in particular?

Michael Schoner (MS): Yes, but I think it does take a while to realize how much audio has to do with space. For example, in churches and museum–the general expectation is that you have to be quiet.

TF: Can you describe a formative experience from your childhood in relation to sound?

MS: Yes–sitting on a washing machine and singing, or the experience of parents telling you to shut up.

TF: The first thing you mention is an embodied experience of sound and of manipulating it! As soon as you say that, I remember lying on my stomach on the floor, and another kid giving me a karate chop/pretend massage–I start humming and love how the impact of their hands on my back affects my vocalizing.

MS: Well at least your experience was social, Teresa–mine was with a machine…

TF: Yes, but I bet somebody put you up on that washing machine the first time you discovered those vibes, though.

MS: Sure.

TF: Until you said what you did about your washing machine experience, I never thought about how children learn about sound/vibrations physically. It reminds me of that thing I’ve seen musicians and scientists do–where they put sand or rice on top of an amplifier to make sound vibrations visible .

Okay, another question–where’s the Boom Bench been so far?

MS: Amsterdam, Milan and New York.

TF: Where’s it going to next?

MS: Possibly Shanghai.

TF: Have any cities asked about installing it somewhere permanently?

MS: We received an inquiry from Bulgaria, but right now it’s been designed for temporary placement or exhibition. If you wanted to make it a permanent piece, it would have to be fabricated out of steel. The original is made out of wood.

TF: What would be an ideal location for it?

MS: The obvious placement is urban, but some people have asked to place it out in the suburbs–one location that’s been pitched is an area in between the sea and a lake. The idea of an urban artifact installed in the countryside is interesting, I think. But I’ve never really thought too much about this idea. I think it’s up to other people to figure out what to do with it. The thing leads a life of its own, anyhow.

TF: Are you working on any other audio related projects?

MS: I’m working on designing a concert hall.

TF: Would you kindly share the names of any other artists whose audio work you find interesting?

MS: Yes, a friend of mine told me about a project called The International Dance Party–a kind of disco machine. You start dancing by it and music comes out, the machine starts to open up–there’s even a smoke machine. My bench is for hanging out, a machine like this is for dancing–something like that machine would be great to have for openings.

In 1999, I saw an installation of an artist named Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at PS1. It was a wonderful work with live birds and sound produced, I think, by the birds landing on feeders.

Image from a more recent work by Boursier-Mougenot

Another sound project which I found really interesting is the Optofonica–a collaboration between two artists–TeZ and Janis Poenish.

Oh, yes, and the artist Roman Signer–he has a very nice movie in which he went to Iceland, put a tent up, went to sleep and amplified his snoring through these giant speakers.

Roman Signer (image from his website)

TF: What kinds of things would you think about if you were designing a ringtone to be shared/downloaded for free/played in public?

MS: Well, I don’t really like ringtones. They’re usually so terrible. I had a friend who made an interesting tone–he had one of the first phones that you could record sounds with. He made a ringtone out of the sound you get when you slowly let air out of a balloon. Snoring might be an interesting ringtone…

TF: There is a snore tone in the project… Okay, one last question–may I make a ringtone for the project based your specifications, or would you like to submit an audio file to the project?

MS: I’ll think about it. Maybe that is the sort of thing I could mention at the lunch table to the firm.

TF: Wow–that’d be great! Thanks for your time, Michael. I’ve enjoyed learning about your work, and this exchange we’ve had is helpful in expanding my thinking around the performative aspect of Locally Toned.

“Instalacja” Romana Signera (kurator – Beata Nowacka-Kardzis), foto – Maciej Nowacki

… a tymczasem dorożkarskie konie są szczęśliwe. Pompa, z której czerpano dla nich do tej pory wodę, jest od kilku dni zepsuta – “Instalacja” Romana Signera stała się dla pracujących zwierząt jedynym wodopojem.

… a radio atakuje.

Foto: Weronika Szmuc

… and many more

Samochód. Z kajakiem na dachu. Właściciel pływał nim po Wiśle? Zaparkował przy Rynku i wyszedł na kawę?

Z kajaka cieknie woda. Chwila rozciąga się w nieskończoność. INSTALACJA Romana Signera zaparkowała przy Rynku Głównym.

Foto: Weronika Szmuc

Current exhibitions at: Kunsthalle Hamburg. Actual artist: Roman Signer – “Projektionen. Filme und Videos (1975 – 2008)” – Exhibition dates are 05.06.09 – 06.09.09. Get more information about Roman Signer – Museum or Gallery informations: Hamburg, Kunsthalle by Wikipedia.org / Portal:Arts. Buy arts from Roman Signer or find objects, articles or web-projects? Art online: Roman Signer by adaweb.com | Biography – Textportrait from Roman Signer by Roman Signer. Articles and texts:

Textimages: Naomi Campbell (Ralph Ueltzhoeffer 2008)

Ralph Ueltzhoeffer: Textportraits.

EXHIBITION – artist: Roman Signer, location: Kunsthalle Hamburg, date: 05.06.09 – 06.09.09 / current exhibitions at: Kunsthalle Hamburg 2008. Artistinformation and biography-text from: Roman Signer Kunsthalle Hamburg CATEGORY: art, modern art, projects: TEXTPORTRAITS Roman Signer by Ralph Ueltzhoeffer and Laura May. More information about Roman Signer Exhibition Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany.

New entries: actual 0

Naomi Campbell / Portrait (TEXTPORTRAIT).

textportraits by Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.

AKTUELLE AUSSTELLUNG: Kunsthalle Hamburg; Künstler: Roman Signer; Betitelung: Projektionen. Filme und Videos (1975 – 2008) – Zeitraum der Ausstellung: 05.06.09 – 06.09.09. Kunstausstellungen (Deutschland) aktuell: Kunsthalle Hamburg (2008). Weitere Informationen über: Roman Signer: Biografie/Biography — | Galerieninformationen/Gallery: Roman Signer — Weitere geplante Ausstellungen: Kunsthalle Hamburg von Roman Signer — Roman Signer Kunstportal: Wikipedia (http://de.wikipedia.org). Mehr aktuelle Informationen über Roman Signer Kunsthalle Hamburg.

Beitragsforum Kunst & Kultur allgemein:

Textportrait: Naomi Campbell.

Textportraits – Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.

Roman Signer, Bottes, 1986

그 전까진 그 저 Gastr del sol 의 음반 커버로만 알고있었다. 우연히 그의 이름을 찾아 기억해두다.

EXHIBITION – artist: Roman Signer, location: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, date: 06.12.08 – 07.12.08 / current exhibitions at: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis 2008. Artistinformation and biography-text from: Roman Signer Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis CATEGORY: art, modern art, projects: TEXTPORTRAITS Roman Signer by Ralph Ueltzhoeffer and Laura May. More information about Roman Signer Exhibition Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, United States.

New entries: actual 0

Barack Obama / Portrait (TEXTPORTRAIT).

textportraits by Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.

Por Humberto Lemos

O Fotógrafo brasileiro Christian Cravo ficou entre os 20 selecionados no primeiro Prix Pictet, prêmio oferecido pelo banco suíço Pictet & Cie e o diário Financial Times, no valor de 50 mil libras (R$175 mil), para a foto vencedora.

O Prix Pictet apresenta-se como “o primeiro prêmio de fotografia mundial centrado no tema da sustentabilidade”, onde a temática ligada à água foi a protagonista. Além de Cravo, 17 outros fotógrafos foram selecionados: Benoit Aquin, Edward Burtynksky, Jesus Abad Colorado, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Sebastian Copeland, Lynn Davis, Reza Deghati, Susan Derges, Malcolm Hutcheson, Chris Jordan, Carl De Keyzer, David Maisel, Mary Mattingly, Robert Polidori, Roman Signer, Jules Spinatsch, Munem Wasif.

Benoit Aquin

A série de trabalhos do fotógrafo canadense Benoit Aquin foi a vencedora do prêmio. Benoit documentou o processo de desertificação em algumas áreas da China e a imagem vencedora retrata duas mulheres usando máscaras para se proteger da poeira que paira em pleno centro urbano de uma cidade do interior da Mongólia.

Christian Cravo

Cravo retratou como a água é celebrada como fonte de vida em diferentes países. Uma de suas fotos mostra um ritual no Haiti que cultua a relação entre o ser humano e o elemento.

Susan Derges 

A série O Observador e Observado, de Susan Derges, usa recursos fotográficos para mostrar como um jato d’água pode se parecer com gotas de água, uma metáfora da interação de quem observa e de quem está sendo observado.

O Prix Pictet foi concedido em Tóquio em uma cerimônia que contou com a participação do ex-secretário-geral da ONU Kofi Annan.

“A minha esperança é que o Prix Pictet, o primeiro prêmio do mundo dedicado à fotografia e sustentabilidade ajude a aprofundar o entendimento das mudanças que ocorrem no nosso mundo e aumente a consciência pública sobre a urgência da tomada de ação”, disse o ex-secrétário.

Fonte: BBC

The Prix Pictet is a major new global prize in photography that focuses on perhaps the greatest single issue of the twenty-first century: sustainability. Over 40 nominators consisting of well known and esteemed gallerists, curators, directors, and editors nominated well over 200 photographers spanning 43 countries for this award, which is generally seen as the highest there is in terms of photography and the environment. 18 photographers were shortlisted by a group of highly regarded judges, including the work of Mary Mattingly, a former class mate of mine from Parsons School of Design. The photographers chosen have produced work of great significance and importance, focusing on urgent environmental issues. The prize awarded will be $100,000 for the winning photographer, as well as shortlisted artist offered a commission worth $40,000 to produce a water related project. To download the official press release please click here.

Shortlisted artists are:

Benoit Aquin
Edward Burtynsky
Jesus Abad Colorado
Thomas Joshua Cooper
Sebastian Copeland
Christian Cravo
Lynn Davis
Reza Deghati
Susan Derges
Malcolm Hutcheson
Chris Jordan
Carl De Keyzer
David Maisel
Mary Mattingly
Robert Polidori
Roman Signer
Jules Spinatsch
Munem Wasif

Each of these shortlisted photographers will be invited to show their work at the Palais de Tokyo in October and run through November, after which the show will be begin a world tour. Take a look at some of the images of each artist. They are powerful, devastating, beautiful, and extraordinary, all at the same time. I highly recommend reading the press release to find out more about each individual artist and their background, as well as the prize and how it’s come about. For me, to see a group of photographs whom I literally think of as the best in the world, competing for a prize that can have no better aim than sustainability in our world and communication into the devastating affects of climate change, I say, it’s about time.

Chris Jordan: Remains of a business, St. Bernard Parish
Series: In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster

To visit the Prix Pictet site please visit www.prixpictet.com

Swiss artist Roman Signer’s “action sculptures” involve setting up, carrying out, and recording “experiments” or events that bear aesthetic results. Following carefully planned and strictly executed and documented procedures, the artist enacts and records such acts as explosions, collisions, and the projection of objects through space. Video works like Stiefel mit Rakete (Boot with Rocket) are integral to Signer’s performances, capturing the original setup of materials that self-destruct in the process of creating an emotionally and visually compelling event. Signer gives a humorous twist to the concept of cause and effect and to the traditional scientific method of experimentation and discovery, taking on the self-evidence of scientific logic as an artistic challenge.

Exhibitions of Signers work are currently running at:

Fruitmarket Gallery: Edinburgh. Until January 27th

Hamburger Bahnhof Museum of Modern Art: Berlin Until January 27th

http://www.cmoa.org/international/html/art/signer.htm

AKTUELLE AUSSTELLUNG: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; Künstler: Roman Signer; Betitelung: (o.T.) – Zeitraum der Ausstellung: 06.12.08 – 07.12.08. Kunstausstellungen (USA) aktuell: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2008). Weitere Informationen über: Roman Signer: Biografie/Biography — | Galerieninformationen/Gallery: Roman Signer — Weitere geplante Ausstellungen: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis von Roman Signer — Roman Signer Kunstportal: Wikipedia (http://de.wikipedia.org). Mehr aktuelle Informationen über Roman Signer Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Beitragsforum Kunst & Kultur allgemein:

Textportrait: Barack Obama.

Textportraits – Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.