The fireplace of Elrod Commons is the hearth and heart of campus. Because of this, I chose to map Commons Living Room for the Alien Walk. It's warmth and the vibrancy of its color attract students like moths, especially during these winter months. The longer I sat near the fire, the more I noticed about the way people treated and interacted with the space. The room's functions are many: people sat to study at the circular tables either in groups or alone; others gathered around one of the two couches in the room to nap or chat in between classes; one or two used the chairs nearest to Co-op to rest while enjoying a Sunrise or coffee. Most just waved to friends as they passed through, with common phrases including, "What's good?" and, "Hey, how are you?" Most of these passerbys walked quickly, eyes straight ahead, never pausing to take in the room or it's people.
To challenge myself, I sat in the corner of the room with sunglasses on last week, with the idea being to close my eyes and only record the things I heard. For the first time, I heard the faint but always present humming from the lights overhead. It was nighttime, and as such, the four people seated in the room spoke loudly, unafraid to disturb any people who might be studying. Occasionally, the blender from Co-op would screech into life, and a name would be called out by the workers for a student to pick up their order. The sizzling of the grill and the smell of its contents even wafted into the room during quite moments. These sounds comprised the "baseline" of noise for the room, in my mind. Even though they changed often in volume, their presence was constant enough for them to become a part of the definition of the space. Piercing the space, the squeaking of heavy bean boots, the clacking of high heels, and the soft thuds of tennis shoes helped me to follow the evolution of the space without opening my eyes. Boys walked by in groups by the sound of their heavy footfalls, dragged walking technique, and the rustling of the fabric of their jeans. One girl in heels walked quickly across the room, each step ringing outward loudly. An old woman in tennis shoes crisply made it to the other side before I had time to take a good look at her person. Every so often, a Safety Officer made their rounds vigilantly, with the most peaceful walking rhythm of anyone who had come through. He or she walked slowly, as though they had no where to go but couldn't stay in any one place. The rustling and jangling of their keys against their hip was a strangely calming sound.
Today, I am looking at the room with earplugs in, and will focus on seeing the space again for the first time.
This is an awesome way of challenging yourself! I love how you are able to describe everything in such detail without having seen much. Its amazing how much more you notice when you have nothing else to focus on, which is something I have experienced with my project also. Although you've taken one sense away, I still feel like you have covered all of the senses within this description. I am excited to hear about your experience only seeing versus this experience of listening.
ReplyDeleteRosella, I really like your approaches of blocking out other senses and focus mainly on one. As i'm reading it, i find it very effective according to the amount of details you've covered. I can see that you are fully engaged in this whole process and even start analyzing (how you use "as though" and other attempting words brings out your thoughts about your observation). I don't know if you would include this as part of your observation, but i look forward to your description of the smell in commons.
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