We assume that understanding the world through hearing – through listening – is as important for experiencing reality, orientation, sense of place and developing a positive relationship to the world and to other people, as is appearance (color scheme, tactile texture, variety), cleanliness, smell, or the composition of air, water or soil.
For generations, people have lived amid nature, that is in an environment which is very rich in sound. Landscape sounds have a broad spectrum of depth and dynamics, ranging from the silent to the loud, from the distant to the near. In the past few centuries, industrialization and, more recently, globalization have changed the world in many ways. The disappearance of many biological species has also impoverished the richness of the sound spectrum, and some of the processes of civilization which we have had to get used to are the standardization, flattening and increase in the volume of noise.
The interrelation of the “natural” and “artificial” noise environments is being studied by a relatively new, interdisciplinary field: acoustic ecology. Acoustic ecology studies the nature and effect of sound on the physical and psychological reactions of people who live in the given environment. A key concept is the so-called “soundscape,” which R. Murray Schafer understands as the relationship of the individual (or of a collective) to the outside acoustic environment. The soundscape includes aggregates of subjective perceptions, emotions which we (both consciously and unconsciously) experience, hear, register, measure or analyze. The soundscape is in a certain sense an objective part of a specific time and place, comprising a community’s shared aural heritage, co-creating its identity and the uniqueness of a place. It is a component in a wider psychological, social, and ecological context.
The shift in perspective is also very important for acoustic ecology: Are we able to understand how sound and noise influence other living beings? What is the character of certain soundscapes in interspecial and environmental contexts? Biophonics is a term used by acoustic ecologist Bernie Kraus, who is both artist and scientist, and who studies the transformations of soundscapes. Biophonics consist in the collective acoustic expression emitted by all organisms in a certain environment and a certain timeframe (including the vocal expressions of humans and other animals). Geophonics, on the other hand, collects the acoustics of, for example, meteorological and geological processes – volcano eruptions, the din of tornadoes and hurricanes, melting glaciers, falling stones, erosion of deserts and the crackle of electromagnetic waves. Stuart Gage’s term anthropophonics denotes those acoustic expressions which are related to humankind. Kraus notes that there exist effects of climate change which can not only be seen or smelt, but also heard.
Anthropophonics is undergoing a steady rise, and biophonics is changing at a global scale. The biotope of the forest, meadow, gardens, steppes, rivers, oceans, connected to the expression of birds and insects, amphibians and mammals is quickly disappearing from both our visual and aural horizons. Biophonics are becoming drowned out by the din of people, or rather by our ever louder machines and devices. Will we manage to adapt to such a fundamental change in our environment and, if yes, who will we then become?
AGOSTO FOUNDATION
Milos Sejn: FUNGUS, division of sonic vibrations,1994