Reading Responce

I chose the article "The Art of Noise" by Davis Toop. It interested me because he presented a number of facts that I had never heard of or considered before about how we perceive sound. Also, I thought the way he presented the ideas of how people have interacted and worked with sound over the ages was fascinating.
Toop mainly discusses what the differences are between sound art and musical art, and what actually constitutes as art. Elaborating on that, he brings up a point: should all noises be considered art? Or are some noises just noise. He also talks about the history of that debate and how over the years it has been looked upon in various ways by the different generations. Sometimes being considered art and other times not. In the end he shows that this idea is very subjective and that it will always be an ongoing debate.
Since the article showed us that there is no defined way of creating or always determining what sounds constitute as art. As a media artist, I thought it was a good idea to take this notion into account as well as look at the history of what other media artists have done over the years and learn from what they have done to further my own sound recording ideas. His ideas also made me think that it is up to our own determination to decide for ourselves what is sound art to us.

Travis Torok

Soundwalk Responce

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes, I thought everywhere we went you could really hear a lot of stuff if you just stopped for a second and listened carefully.
Was it possible to move without making a sound?
Not really. You could always hear your clothes or shoes or backpack make a noise no matter how careful you were.
What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
It made me realize that there are a lot of sounds we take for granted and that it feels uncanny when your expecting to hear a loud noise from a truck passing by and you actually hear nothing.
In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
I could usually tell what was making the noise even if I couldn't see it.
Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Feet and voices. Vehicles and buildings. Wind and birds.
Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
Absolutely, every city bus seems to be humming its own note.
Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Pens clicking and note pages rustling. Planes and sirens.
What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
It blew note pages and it also made a whooshing noises by my ears sometimes when it was strong enough.
Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
Yes, but it was unintentional like when I had my hand in my pocket which made my keys jingle against each other.
Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes, it's neat to hear how many sounds there actually are around us.
How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I think it has made me much more aware of different ways that you can experience sound.