December 9th, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA
LED BY Michal Wisniowski
Participants in this Walkshop explored the soundscapes of San Francisco with artist Michal Wisniowski . By using headphones and recording software which amplified the sounds that surround us every day, we could pay closer attention to what may otherwise be left unheard and unnoticed. Like the sound of our own footsteps, much of these details are drowned out by the multitude of other sounds in a busy urban environment. We became collectors of these audible vignettes as we explored different settings from the Transamerica Redwood Park to the San Francisco Ferry Building. Places we may have walked by for years became fresh again as we heard them with new ears. At the conclusion of our walk, participants provided their sound samples to Michal for editing. With the newly discovered sound samples, he assembled the pieces into audible collages. Each person’s collage created a unique perspective and experience for the listener.
Michal Wisniowski creates installations that depend on collected found objects, crowdsourced images, and interaction with the public. These often generative projects grow with time and require continuous input, resulting in performative acts as part of the work. As a Polish artist whose formative years were divided between communist Poland, refugee camps in Denmark, and post-unification Germany, the intersections of economic and political structures are integral to Wisniowski's practice. His work seeks out personal agency and alternatives to established narratives within the small resistances of everyday efforts. By using common materials and household objects Wisniowski creates provisional environments that are critical and nostalgic, searching for the possibility of productive survival strategies.
DETAILS
Location: 555 Mission Street Plaza, San Francisco, CA, Endpoint: Ferry Terminal
Start Time: 2pm
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Equipment: iPhone or Android Device with Recording Software* (iOS: Voice Record Pro, Android: Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder) orRecForge II orAutomatic Voice Recorder AND Over-the-ear Headphones (without microphone!)
Photography by Minoosh Zomorodinia and Astrid Kaemmerling
