People seem to be able to detect the artificiality of sounds pretty easily. I wondered today how off-putting it would be to be in a room in which all the normal sounds you expect are replaced by artificial recordings. For example, it would be strange to walk into a restroom and hear not your own footsteps, but a recording of shoes on tile. Instead of running water, a recording of running water, etc. I'm not sure how this would be implemented, but it would make an interesting art installation (especially if you could do it outside the "art world" among people who won't be expecting it). Many of us are accustomed to running around with mp3 players and rarely think about the loss of the sound of crunching leaves or a door closing. It's not that I intend to get sentimental about real-life audio here (I am a huge fan of my mp3 player), but I just find people's relationships with environments to be interesting, even more so when you consider the concept of artificiality.

©The ideas and objects presented in this blog are copyright Marcela Poffald 2008.