Tanja Softic
Nocturne, 1998
intaglio print, color on paper
Carleton College Art Collection, gift of Fred Hagstrom
This audio track was inspired by Tanja Softic’s print Nocturne along with the artist’s writings on cycles of creation and memory. Drawing on the process of producing layered intaglio prints, the student layered sound to develop a rich, specific memory based on the artist’s time living in Virginia. Nocturne elicits a dreamy nighttime setting filled with creatures of the night who buzz and croak. In the audio track, these same sounds are repeated in reverse, mimicking the bilateral symmetry depicted in the print. Developing space and time sonically allowed the student to address the unstable nature of perception and memory present in Softic’s artwork.
Dan Bruggeman
airshow incident, pilot survives and walks away, 2016
gouache and watercolor
Courtesy of the artist
The audio track that accompanies airshow incident, pilot survives and walks away, uses sonic elements to tell a non-linear narrative which moves forward and backwards in time to the scene of the artwork. Transitioning fluidly through the moments, before, during, and after the plane crash, sound is experienced from the first-person perspective of the pilot, referenced in the title of the watercolor only. Dan Bruggemen’s artworks often consider themes of loss as viewed distantly, especially the loss of life, land, and nature. The non-linear narrative constructed through this soundscape distances the pilot and the audience from the crash, staying true to the themes and concepts of the artwork.
Utagawa Hiroshige II
Caverns of the Gold Mine on Sado Island (Sado kinzan okuana no zu), 1859
color woodblock print on paper
Carleton College Art Collection
Inspired by Cavern of the Gold Mine on Sado Island and research into mining practice of 19th-cenury Japanese mines, this sonic narrative follows a miner as they walk from deep below ground to the surface. Capturing the sense of verticality that the print gives, the sounds of labor and production change as the miner gradually reaches the surface where a drizzle of rain permeates the fresh air.
Elliott Erwitt
Barcelona, Spain, 1951
gelatin silver print on paper
Carleton College Art Collection, gift of Arthur D. Kowaloff, class of 1968
Barcelona, Spain captures a specific historic moment when Barcelona’s public transportation was compromised by a series of transit strikes. The realities of the city are evident in the many contrasting element of the image — dark and light, rich and poor, inside and outside. The audio scene builds with sounds of the city, the tram, and people until a camera shutter clicks above the din and the scene falls away. As sound returns, breaking glass and angry voices foreground the transit protests of the time. The sounds end ambiguously and without a resolution for the protest or the characters involved, echoing the unresolved quality of the photograph itself.
Arthur Gonzalez
Maquette for The Trees Will Sway and the Bones Will Break, 2020
ceramic, chipboard, enamel
Purchased through The Mary Leigh Elmore Miller, class of 1961, Fund for the Arts
In Maquette for The Trees Will Sway and the Bones Will Break, a student found inspiration for a complex and abstract story centering on the two characters in the sculpture. The figures inspire the characters of this soundscape, the bone lady (on the left) and the clock lady (on the right). In the soundtrack, the two women are in the midst of conversation when an eruption and storm destroy their world. The audio narrative was inspired by research into the work of artist Arthur Gonzalez who creates fantastical and foreboding multimedia constructions.
Charles A. Zimmerman
Fort Snelling, Minn., 19th Century
stereoscopic print
These stereoscopic picture moments and locations which served as inspiration for two student-produced soundscapes. In Building a Pontoon Bridge at Bearfort, S.C, the student captured this coastal city during the Civil War, over the course of one day.In response to Fort Snelling, MN the sound designer created a sonic adventure from the perspective of crossing the Mississippi on the ferry boat featured in the stereograph.
Timothy H. O’Sullivan
Building a Pontoon Bridge at Beaufort, S.C. #157, 19th Century
stereoscopic print