Part 1: Times Square:
After getting off the subway at 42nd street, my partner and I made our way up to 46th street to get to the pedestrian island that featured Max Neuhaus’ permanent installation. Making our way up the four streets, our ears were bombarded by the cacophony of New York’s array of chaotic sounds. The metallic clanging of construction on the streets. The dull simmering of car engines. The overt New Yorkers’ chatter. Times Square also took its toll on our sight. The bright, flashing lights of oversized screens surrounding us. The struggle to find a way through the overcrowded streets. The scattering of street performers dressed up as statues and cartoon characters. With our sight and sounds overwhelmed by the disposition of Times Square, the heat beating down on us was barely noticeable.
Once we reached the pedestrian island on 46th street, we first sat on the stairs along with other passerbys and tourists, and gave ourselves a moment to take in our surroundings and be still amidst the intense movement around us. Then we moved away from the stairs and stood on the Neuhaus installation. We took a mental note of the people, buildings, foods stalls, sounds and smells around us. After being on the pedestrian island, we had noticed a shift in our dominant senses – suddenly sight had overtaken sound. Upon reaching the pedestrian island, the sounds had seemed to fade out slightly, and the chaotic clutter of the area had dulled out into a low buzz. We were surprised at this because it was odd to think that despite being right at the centre of this eruption of commercial and city life, the soundscape wasn’t as vibrant as expected, and I felt a certain peace amidst the juxtaposition of bustling streets and a dulled out soundscape.
Part 2: Central Park Celebrity Audio Tour
My partner and I chose to go to Central park for the second part of our field trip since we hadn’t already visited this part of the park before, and therefore didn’t know any information about it. We visited a few of the landmarks within that area of the park, while listening to celebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Alec Baldwin and Marcia Gay Harden educate us on the significance and use of these landmarks.
Having unfortunately gone on a wet day, the humid air was unpleasant and our sweat kept pulling our clothes closer to our skin. The park looked duller and muddier than we had hoped, but was nevertheless peaceful and calming as expected. Despite the pretty large number of people in the area at that time, everyone seemed to be respectful of the park’s serenity and left the nature undisturbed bny noise. The only sounds to be heard was the whirring of the bicycle wheels and the uncomfortable squelching of shoes trudging through puddles and muddy spots. Occasionally the ringing soundtrack at the beginning and end of the audio tape would interrupt my state of being entranced in the quietness of the park, and its loudness would wake me up from my still daydream.
Hearing so many actors and actresses talk about Central Park with such enthusiasm and joyful emotions helped me, as a listener, gain an understanding of my surroundings and have my own connection with it, and strongly conveyed the deep, cherished relationship the actors have with this significant aspect of their city, accompanied by a sense of pride.
