Reach me; Reach me not

Hey guys!

I’ve being thinking about the REACH piece for the past couple of days, and recently something came up. I’ve being visiting NYC frequently for the past 4-5 years, always staying in Astoria, which made the Q/N line the one I use the most. 34th street is also a station that I used to frequently travel to – friend, shopping, movie theater, among others – I felt odd that in all this time I never got to at least glance the glossy, bulky, green piece of noise making metal hanging over my head… or didn’t I?!

I got to remember that more then a couple of times getting out of the train I got a bit annoyed how low the ar conditioning ducts are in 34th/Harold Square station (let me make clear that usually I would come to NYC during the winter and Fall, therefore unaware of the lack of AC inside the steam rooms/subway stations in NYC). My first contacts with this piece were actually a bit unpleasant.

It’s a nice piece, I specially like the concept of connecting both platforms, I can see myself having a lot of fun with it. But that said, considering the position of the piece, almost touching the ceiling, the low volume of the sound system in comparison to the subway noise and the noise of the people in the station [I was wondering if we would be able to listen to the noises if a subway performer were to be nearby] and how its design almost camouflages it in between ducts and pipes the goes through the station, REACH goes unseen and unheard.

We could further consider that during the day the subway stations are a transitory place for [usually] fast passing individuals, either going back home or toward some appointment of sorts. Besides the noise they made, hardly anyone will stop and give enough attention to its surroundings to see, understand, and interact with the piece.

I guess my point here is that I wish REACH was less subdued. I wish REACH would reach (see what I did?!) the user/individual and not so much the other way around. I guess in 1995/96 REACH might have worked better, attention span wasn’t such a issue, I guess people were more aware of the surrounding. Not so much now a days.

Leave a reply

Skip to toolbar