Explorations into Serendipity

white night, collesium

white night, collesium

white night, crowded metro station

temporary sound installation

audio tracks

Peter Lang Studio_301_Fall 2007
Texas A&M University College of Architecture
Santa Chiara Study Center_Italart

introduction/Project done while studying in Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy. A study of sound in urban spaces and places, I recorded the various sounds of the urban environment on Rome’s busiest night, White Night*. The noise of crowds, music, metro lines, walking, cars, and busses were spliced together into an almost musical, rhythmic collage. A photography dark room was then converted into a temporary sound installation where speakers from the different corners of the room synchronized with each other to spew out the sound of Rome. The end result was a  space that immersed the user in the sound of an urban environment, engaging the sense of hearing and allowing it to stand as equals to the other senses when it comes to guaging the quality of a city.

serendipity/After a leisurely afternoon wandering through the monthly flea market in Arrezo, my two friends and I boarded the train to make our way back home, only to realize we had boarded the Inter-City train that was heading straight for Rome. Luckly for us, this just happened to be Rome’s White Night*. We ended up walking around the city for the entire night, met some interesting people, and made an experience out of it. We left the next morning on the first train back home with tired legs and had a good story to tell.

*White Night is like a block party . . . that the entirety of Rome takes part in . . . and it lasts all night.