The screaming grate.
Going to Times Square is really fun when you’re a tourist. Not so much when you live in New York. All the loud noises and what it feels like millions of people just walking in the streets is very overwhelming, so when we heard we had to go there we weren’t thrilled. The loudness, the heat, all the people, and all the visual stimuli are exhausting on a daily basis.
We took the subway, got to Times Square and walked towards the Max Neuhaus’ “Permanent Installation” and completely walked over it without noticing. Eventually, we realized that we must have had missed it because we got to the red stairs. We had to look a picture to know what we had to see and when we realized it was a bunch of grates, we were a little disappointed. We started hearing this weird hum like the sound of a bell resonating in the space below us. We were a bit upset that we had gone to Times Square just to see a “screaming grate”, as we started calling it.
This is the third time I’ve been to New York and when I was here before I loved going to Times Square, so I went there a lot of times. With my family, with friends, by myself and I never noticed there was any sound coming from the ground. Nor I ever knew there was an art installation there. So, after being there this time I started asking myself why it was so hidden. Maybe it should have a sign or something that indicates what it is. I also started asking myself what the purpose of this whole thing was if wasn’t even noticeable or indicated. Why would an artist do something that most people completely miss? Was it on purpose? And if it was, Why?
After I got home that day, I started doing some research on Max Neuhaus and his installation. I found out many things. The first was that it was on purpose that the sound was a barely noticeable hum that wasn’t indicated. From a whole bunch of articles I read, I came to the conclusion that the objective of this is to catch the eye, or the ear, of only the most curious and detail-oriented people. The fact that it’s so easily missed because of all the noises and agitation of Times Square means that only a few people will notice it and be intrigued by it. After reading about it I started liking the whole purpose of it. Now I wish that I had paid more attention to details when I was there before and didn’t notice it. I also read that “the hum” is the only constant and permanent sound you can hear in Times Square. I found this really interesting because after thinking about it I realized it’s true. All the agitation, the people, street dancers, sellers, traffic and everything else is constantly changing and evolving. Everything but “the hum”. It’s kind of nice to think about it. One permanent and constant thing in between all the madness.
After this whole experience, I’m definitely paying more attention to everything when I go to visit some new place.
