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Learning to Capture the Quiet

Kickapoo River Bluffs 2009, photo by Paul Gaudynski

Kickapoo River Bluffs 2009, photo by Paul Gaudynski

Nature Sound Recordists Campout

Wildlife at Crex Meadows

Wildlife at Crex Meadows

Each year since 2003, a group of ten to twenty people has gathered for the purposes of sharing and recording natural sounds. The group has included sound artists, composers, birders, biologists, naturalists, media educators, filmmakers, news reporters and trackers. All have shared an interest in learning what nature has to give to their ears and the best methods for detecting and capturing these experiences. The primary learning tools have been shared excursions, in-field demonstrations, collective camping and conversation. We have enjoyed the presence of recordists with many years of experience and great intimacy with the natural surroundings as well novices eager to soak-up everything about the techniques and the environment as they can. Everyone has been welcomed and all have left fulfilled.

Crex Meadows Map

Crex Meadows Map

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2010 02 20 admin events
soundwalks
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OSIS–One Square Inch of Silence

Elliott Berger, Secretary

Elliott Berger, Secretary

Many people are learning and talking about Gordon Hempton’s One Square Inch of Silence book and project at Olympic National Park. The MSAE is proud to have Elliott Berger as one of its members who also serves on the board of the One Square Inch Foundation. Visit their website to learn about the project and how you can help.

Sunrise, Hurricane Ridge, ONP

Sunrise, Hurricane Ridge, ONP

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2010 02 07 admin in the media
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Membership for 2010, Looking Ahead, Good News

Millennium Park, Chicago

Millennium Park, Chicago

A message to American Society for Acoustic Ecology members from Michelle Nagai, Membership Coordinator/Treasurer:

Greetings Members, and Happy New Year!

The time has come to renew your membership in the American Society for Acoustic Ecology.

Our membership year coincides with the calendar year. Please follow the link below to renew your membership for 2010. Note that it’s now possible to make your membership payment via PayPal, or through the mail with a check or money order.

The membership form can be accessed here directly:http://acousticecology.org/asae/documents/ASAE_MemberForm_2010.pdf

And the PayPal link can be accessed here: http://www.acousticecology.org/asae/

For those with memberships active in 2009, you’ll be receiving a copy of Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology very soon. The current volume, edited by the Australian affiliate of the WFAE, will be mailed at the end of the month.

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2010 01 18 admin American Society for Acoustic Ecology
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Illinois Arts Council support to individual artists

IAC logo

Re-post from The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) website:

Overview

The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) has a long history of support for Illinois’ individual artists.  Until this year, the IAC Artist Fellowship Program had continuously provided fellowships to Illinois creative artists for more than 20 years.  Illinois artists have also been supported through the Special Assistance, Ethnic & Folk Arts Master/Apprentice and Governor’s International Arts Exchange Programs.  In addition, the Artstour Program and Arts-in-Education residencies have provided opportunities for artists to work as teaching artists and performers throughout Illinois. The IAC recognizes that individual artists are the keystone to the creation of art. The Council remains committed to individual artists despite diminishing resources.

Due to the steep reduction in the IAC’s operating budget for grants, several grant programs had to be suspended for FY2010 and others had to be greatly reduced.  The limited funds available in FY2010 to provide direct support to individual artists forced the agency to suspend the Artists Fellowship and Ethnic and Folk Arts Master/Apprenticeship Program and severely limit the availability of Special Assistance opportunities for artists.  The Individual Artist Support (IAS) Initiative was developed to bridge the gap left by the suspension of these programs. Continue reading ›

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2010 01 11 admin grants Comments (0) Permalink

ALERT: CHICAGO DESTROYS FIRST GROPIUS BUILDING

The destruction of Chicago’s Gropius architecture and Bauhaus legacy has begun. As reported here in August, the City of Chicago destroyed nearly all of the landscaping around the Michael Reese Hospital campus—the 37-acre site that was purchased by the city for construction of an Olympic Village in 2016. Members of the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology led a soundwalk here on September 12 to raise awareness of the tragic loss of the landscape and threatened demolition of its buildings.

Even though Chicago was not selected to host the 2016 Olympics the first building on the Michael Reese Hospital campus has been destroyed. This action is in willful disregard of city’s own great architectural history and the research of the Gropius in Chicago Coalition (GCC). It was the GCC who revealed Bauhaus-founder Walter Gropius’s direct role in the design of buildings at Michael Reese Hospital. This action gives the lie to Chicago’s claims of commitment to environmentally sustainable practices. Destruction of a Gropius building is ludicrous because there are no real development plans in place, and it ruins any chance of receiving the 20% Federal Redevelopment Tax Credits for buildings on the National Historic Register.

The Friend Convalescent Home on the Michael Reese Hospital Campus, was demolished first. According to the GCC it is the first major Gropius work demolished in decades, anywhere in the world.

Condemnation of the city’s action has been published around the world. Please read the Gropius in Chicago Coalition’s post listing facts of their research.

Please help save what remains by writing letters to the City Officials listed on the GCC’s support page.

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2009 10 29 admin architecture
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in the media
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The November-December, 2009 WFAE Newsletter

The November-December, 2009 WFAE Newsletter

Now online: http://www.wfae.net/newsletter/

The bimonthly WFAE Newsletter is now online for November-December, 2009. This publication is a supplement to the annual Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology. Its mission is to make available in a timely manner, news, events, and announcements from the WFAE Board, WFAE Affiliates, and other sources.

Each newsletter includes:

  • Affiliate Reports
  • Events Calendar: Updates on current world-wide events in acoustic-ecology.
  • Opportunities: Call for papers and projects
  • News Clips and Sound Bites: Headlines from the world press related to sound issues.
  • Site Visit: A featured web site related to acoustic-ecology.
  • Resources: Books, video, web, and other media.

The WFAE Newsletter is a commercial free publication of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.

About the WFAE:

The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), founded in 1993, is an international association of affiliated organizations and individuals, who share a common concern with the state of the world’s soundscapes. Our members represent a multi-disciplinary spectrum of individuals engaged in the study of the social, cultural and ecological aspects of the sonic environment.

The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology encourages your participation in the growth and development of regional affiliate groups around the world. Learn more about becoming a member by visiting the WFAE web site:http://www.wfae.net

WFAE members receive the annual publication Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology.

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2009 10 29 admin World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Comments (0) Permalink

World Listening Project seeking audio for “Acoustic Mirror of the World”

link to World Listening Project

The World Listening Project is seeking audio submissions for its “Acoustic Mirror of the World,” a sound sculpture/installation created for the “Synesthetic Plan of Chicago” show, marking the 100-year anniversary of Daniel Burnham’s 1909 “Plan of Chicago.” The sculpture/installation was conceived and constructed by Eric Leonardson and Gregory O’Drobinak to a provide not so much of an audible experience, but a predominantly tactile, bodily sensation of recorded soundscapes from around the world.

Synesthetic Plan of Chicago’s 4-month run at the Chicago Cultural Center concluded on October 9th, and the Acoustic Mirror of the World was moved to the Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center, at 1060 E. 47th Street. The LBP is a nonprofit center serving youth in the Kenwood/Oakland, Woodlawn, and Bronzeville neighborhoods in Chicago’s south side.

Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center

To make the installation “mirror” the world, neighborhood residents and members of the global field recording and acoustic ecology community are all invited to submit sounds. Instruction and guidelines are provided on the World Listening Project’s website. Please visit the World Listening Project website to learn more about this ongoing project.

The mission of Little Black Pearl is to create opportunities for youth and adults to deepen their creative involvement through the arts, cultivate their entrepreneurial skills and use the arts as a means for economic empowerment and community transformation.

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2009 10 20 admin World Listening Project
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World Listening Project in 4th Annual Chicago Calling Festival

WLP logo

WLP logo

2:00-11:00 p.m., Saturday, October 10, 2009

Epiphany Episcopal Church
201 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607
www.epiphany-chicago.org
312.243.4242

Eric Leonardson presents a 45-minute curated audio program of field recordings and soundscape compositions by the World Listening Project’s global membership. Saturday’s program includes a full day and evening of performances and readings.
More info: http://www.worldlisteningproject.org/?p=43

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2009 10 07 admin Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

reflections on three recent soundwalks in Chicago

Dan Godston recording beehive

Dan Godston recording beehive

The World Listening Project has organized three soundwalks recently—at the Chicago Center for Green Technology and the Garfield Park Conservatory on August 1st, and by/around the Michael Reese Hospital campus on September 12th. It’s been good to be involved with these soundwalks, and the WLP and MSAE are planning several more soundwalks in the coming months. This post details what happened. Continue reading ›

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2009 09 13 Dan American Society for Acoustic Ecology
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Soundwalk in Bronzeville on September 12

dscn0137You are invited to join the World Listening Project in a soundwalk around the Michael Reese Hospital campus on Saturday, September 12 (10 a.m.-11 a.m.).

Soundmarks during this soundwalk will include the chainlink fence along the perimeter of the Michael Reese Hospital campus; the wind in the trees in front of the Singer Pavilion; a security guard’s car tires rolling over gravel on the MRH campus; traffic on Lake Shore Drive; demolition and earthmoving equipment being operated at MRH; bikers, pedestrians, and automobile drivers/passengers on the streets by MRH; and trains traveling the north-south tracks (between MRH and LSD).

This soundwalk will start on the northwest corner of 31st St. and Cottage Grove Dr. We will walk along the fenced-in perimeter of the MRH campus in a clockwise direction, and then we will turn around and return to the soundwalk’s starting point. This soundwalk is free and open to the public; it is being organized by Chad Clark, Jennifer Mosier, Norman Long, Eric Leonardson, and Dan Godston.

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2009 08 26 Dan World Listening Project
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