Storage & Retrieval

Our group chose to capture sound from the entrance of an MTD bus. We were interested in the repetitive conversational exchange of the bus driver and the passengers as the board and exit the vehicle. We gave our selves the rule of pushing record when the doors open and pushing stop when the doors close. As a result we got fragments of conversation and rhythmic breaks in the audio. This recording condenses the hour long ride into a matter of minutes. It represents not the route the bus takes but stops that it makes. The bus is no longer mobile, it is fixed like some sort teleportation device. A set of destinations without the journey. We hear the loud hum of an engine in anticipation as passengers board and pay the fare. The audio reveals the transitional phase of the passenger and the dynamic experience of the driver as each new passenger arrives.

For the retrieval of this information we chose to superimpose the soundscape of the 'bus stop' onto a site which remains stationary. The site we chose is the double doors on the West side entrance of Siebel Center. We liked this site because it acts as a non-space. The double doors are a transitional spaces where not much human interaction occurs. For the playback there is a similar rule as in the recording, push play when door opens and stop when it closes. That way the pedestrian enter/exiting Siebel shares the experience of enter/exiting the bus. The tape will be played through an amplifier causing the sound to flood the entire space. Also, the audio may transport the listener to a similar moment of transit which exists in their memory.