Artist Ellen Reid’s ‘SOUNDWALK’ reimagines what a UCLA tour could be
B Thompson, co-director of the Student Committee for the Arts, walking around campus listening to Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK on their phone. Photo by Reed Hutchinson/UCLA Circle the east side of the psychology building onto Charles E. Young Drive, where crunchy pine needles often blanket the winding path toward the road, and you’ll hear the hum of traffic coming from Hilgard Avenue. But beginning this quarter you can hear something else.
A celestial-sounding synthesizer melody.
Head south on the bustling iconic drive and the synth music builds, as if pulling you toward the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden. Continuing further south past the Terasaki Life Sciences building, you can suddenly hear vocals and chimes, almost eerie sounding particularly if a helicopter going to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center flies overhead joining the chorus.
All these different sonic elements mesh seamlessly into a soundtrack that layers and changes based on where you’re walking through campus.
Though it’s a novel and contemplative way to experience UCLA’s beautiful Westwood campus, it’s decidedly not meant to make campus feel like a new and alien environment. In fact, said its creator, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid, the music is meant to be heard in conjunction with the ambient sounds on campus. Birds, bells, marching band practice — and squirrels.
“Squirrels … lots of very bold squirrels,” said Reid, who composed original musical geocoded to specific locations — everywhere from the residence halls at the top of the Hill to the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden in the northeastern corner of campus and extending south to the botanical garden.
The result is a free public artwork, powered by a GPS-enabled smartphone app, that uses music to animate the campus environment. After downloading and installing the “Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK” app participants have the freedom to explore campus along whatever path they choose and as they enter designated spots, they’ll trigger musical “cells” that are carefully crafted to harmonize with the environment around them.
Reid has been working on the “SOUNDWALK” project for a long time. Her first installation launched in September 2020 in New York City’s Central Park. There are 12 active SOUNDWALKs – one of which is in Athens, Greece – and one that opened recently in her home state of Tennessee.
Then in early 2021, in conjunction with UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, Reid brought “SOUNDWALK” to Griffith Park, incorporating a Los Angeles feel into the composition and making plans to compose a UCLA edition that worked in conjunction with the Griffith Park version. The UCLA version went live Sept. 1.
“This special ‘SOUNDWALK’ is dedicated to the students, health care professionals, faculty and staff of UCLA,” Reid said on the CAP UCLA website. “It is intended as a complement to the main installation in Griffith Park, and I hope that it brings the same sense of reflection, adventure and endless possibility to the UCLA campus. I welcome listeners to observe how sound can alter the perception of a place, beckoning them to explore new areas and to experience the familiar with a fresh perspective.”
Kristy Edmunds, executive and artistic director of CAP UCLA, which presented the UCLA project in association with UCLA’s Student Committee for the Arts, said: “It considers your body in time and space through the music and the technology.” — Madeline Adamo, Sept. 27, 2021
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the UCLA Newsroom website.
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