Joe Rasmussen - 2023

Artist's Statement

Throughout many years as an avid hiker, backpacker, and camper, I’ve experienced the frustration of seeing beautiful places torn down from construction and have had to deal with the invasive views and sounds that come along with it. Once serene locations of peace are now riddled with a cacophony of human made sounds. My audio file expresses this frustration. However, this audio file is about more than just local nature locations being interrupted by construction, but a larger scope of rapid growth with little care for the planet.

All nature sounds are recorded on Pine Valley Mountain, Utah. Peaceful streams, light breezes in the trees, and birds can be heard. The metal drum represents humans existing in harmony with nature around us. I believe that we do have a spot on this planet, and we can complement nature. The sounds of the drum go well with the nature sounds. We can get along well with nature too. As the audio track progresses, more and more human made intrusive sounds will be heard. The track crescendos with a cacophony of machines, engines, alarms, and then abruptly stops and returns to the peaceful nature sounds—a reminder of how the story started and begs the question, “how did something so beautiful end up such a mess?”

References

Incoming Alarm. Accessed 3/25/23. .  

Creative Commons Attribution License.