As the spring progressed, I became interested in interviewing and the confessional. I feel drawn to both subjects for different and smiliar reasons. The ingredient they both share is, of course, secrets. I am drawn to secrets, hoard them, keep them well and my own better still. In the photojournalism tradition I come from, the interview is the place to get at the heart, the meat of someone, hopefully bringing away something of value to share with the world and with others. The confessional, on the other hand, is a place for people to acknowledge and absolve themselves of sins, doubts, fears, and, yes, secrets, and leave them behind forever. I was interested in the kinds of interviews I might have with people, both known and unknown to me, if they knew and trusted that I would guard their anonymity. I did my "interviews" in small closets and closed rooms, intimate spaces just big enough for the two of us, and asked participants to describe a recent experience of joy, one of sadness, and one of fear. I taped the interviews on the same small Olympus recorder I use in the field. I wanted to make these interviews a positive experience for the particiants, and many did tell me afterwards they felt clearer headed and better connected to themselves for having spoken openly. I was just glad I could find 6 willing participants. The result is the song you hear now, a melange of the different stories and voices. Try to pick out each train of thought within the wave of noise, or just listen to the whole as a single song of fear. The six stories are 1. falling off a cliff2. anonymous sex3. a child playing a trick4. fears of being incapable of intimacy5. having companions shot while documenting war6. a threatening intruder hiding and watching from a closet In class, I asked the Soundscapes ACTLabbies to join me in a performance of this by singing their own fear songs with the classroom darkened and the fear song playing loudly to mask identity. Feel free to speak your own fear song here, now.
As the spring progressed, I became interested in interviewing and the confessional. I feel drawn to both subjects for different and smiliar reasons. The ingredient they both share is, of course, secrets. I am drawn to secrets, hoard them, keep them well and my own better still. In the photojournalism tradition I come from, the interview is the place to get at the heart, the meat of someone, hopefully bringing away something of value to share with the world and with others. The confessional, on the other hand, is a place for people to acknowledge and absolve themselves of sins, doubts, fears, and, yes, secrets, and leave them behind forever.
I was interested in the kinds of interviews I might have with people, both known and unknown to me, if they knew and trusted that I would guard their anonymity. I did my "interviews" in small closets and closed rooms, intimate spaces just big enough for the two of us, and asked participants to describe a recent experience of joy, one of sadness, and one of fear. I taped the interviews on the same small Olympus recorder I use in the field. I wanted to make these interviews a positive experience for the particiants, and many did tell me afterwards they felt clearer headed and better connected to themselves for having spoken openly. I was just glad I could find 6 willing participants.
The result is the song you hear now, a melange of the different stories and voices. Try to pick out each train of thought within the wave of noise, or just listen to the whole as a single song of fear. The six stories are
1. falling off a cliff
2. anonymous sex
3. a child playing a trick
4. fears of being incapable of intimacy
5. having companions shot while documenting war
6. a threatening intruder hiding and watching from a closet
In class, I asked the Soundscapes ACTLabbies to join me in a performance of this by singing their own fear songs with the classroom darkened and the fear song playing loudly to mask identity.