Victoria Meyers architect recommends the July 1, 2011 article by Charles McGrath and Dan Barry, reviewing sound levels and islands of quiet in New York City. The piece goes hand-in-hand with hMa's upcoming book 'Shape of Sound', by hMa principal Victoria Meyers. Shape of Sound looks at various projects by hMa, including Ojai Fesitval Shell in Ojai, California, and DWiP (Battery Park City Community Center) - and their relationship to sound phenomena and investigations by sound artists and composers.
Aerial perspective of hMas' DWiP: Digital Water Pavilion (Battery Park City Community Center, Victoria Meyers architect post
Diagram showing development of DWiP App for i-Phone and Android Platforms, linking Schumacher sound piece to DWiP glass frit patterns Victoria Meyers architect post
The book includes exerpts from correspondence between the sound art and contemporary music patron Betty Freeman, who died in 2009. Ms. Freeman was famous as the 'little old lady' who met composer Phillip Glass when he was working as a New York City cab driver to make ends meet. Ms. Freeman discovered that Mr. Glass was a talented composer unable to support his artistic career, and gave Mr. Glass funding that allowed him to pursue musical composition full time. The book contains exerpts and copies of correspondence between Ms. Freeman and composer Harry Partch, whose hand-made musical 'instruments' and compositions are on view at the Partch Instrumentarium, also supported by Ms. Freeman, at Montclair State University.
The Times article appears below. hMa will be posting exerpts from Victoria's upcoming 'Shape of Sound', in upcoming blog posts.
Photographs by Ty Cacek/The New York Times
"Forty thousand fireworks. Now that’s bound to make some noise. There are New Yorkers who will love every decibel on the Fourth of July, when Macy’s puts on its “biggest fireworks display in America.” Other New Yorkers — well, they’d much rather see the rockets’ red glare than hear the bursting in air. Certainly all city dwellers are used to noise, but there are those who hear a symphony in the cacophony and those who seek out New York’s many pockets of peace and quiet. Here, two views. Which do you prefer, the cacophony of New York or the quiet?"
