Amazing workshop! Ear cleaning exercise and DIY eco-sensing w/ Eric Leonardson @ericleonardson @designonmain203 @isugd @isucollegeofdesign #SusE #MDesSE #iowa #midwest #acousticEcology #soundart #art #listening #design #isugd
Scenes from Monday’s workshop with Alex Braidwood’s grad students at Iowa State University. In addition to the workshop I was invited to give a lecture for a packed room at the university’s College of Design on “Advances in Eco-Sensing and Soundscape.” This was part of the 2017-2018 Master of Urban Design /Master of Design in Sustainable Environments Lecture Series. I found it both gratifying and highly encouraging that students and faculty are pursuing acoustic ecology in its diverse theoretical and practical aspects for sustainability in agriculture, architecture, art, ecological aesthetics, engineering, and urban design.
This was an excellent opportunity to introduce people to the mission and history the many groups I organize and lead, including the regional Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology. While the time and outdoor conditions were unfavorable for a soundwalk, I did have the opportunity to engage students in their listening with some “ear cleaning” exercises to emphasize the important role soundwalking and sound making are in my notion of “eco-sensing.” Additionally, I was able show how listening, sound, instrument making, design, performance and improvisation—with and without simple technologies—are interconnected and core to my artistic practice.