023 The Ornithologist Ghosthunter / Site-Specific Sound Performance  

Created specifically for LMCC's LentSpace, a disused lot at the corner of Canal and 6th Ave in New York, The Ornithologist Ghosthunter is a sound performance featuring sound devices tucked away up in the square's trees, a wireless microphone system transmitting to the PA system, and a roving performance of sound discovery, improvisation and narration. The sound devices played a continuous loop of fake electronic birdsongs emerging and receding into fields of noise. Though not audible by themselves, when I approached with my field microphone the sounds were then transmitted to the front of house PA, along with my occasional narrations of invented birdnames. The piece was conceived as an homage in equal parts to Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) pioneer Friedrich Jurgenson and famed naturalist David Attenborough. I also roamed around the square, finding and narrating sounds within the various materials scattered around. The performance took place as part of LentSpace's lunchtime series, allowing for an interesting alchemy of contemporary art, high-class food trucks and office folks on lunch breaks. Performed in May 2012.

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