steve roden
vegetale oscillations, 1998

city market
los angeles

in 1998, vegetale oscillations was presented as a site specific installation at the city market in downtown los angeles. the first part was a 24 minute soundscape created using only the sounds recorded during a 24 minute walk around the outdoor market spaces. initially, i carried a digital tape recorder around the market with me as i wandered through this space for the first time. as i listened back to the 24 minute recording i became aware of the secondary sounds - those very small acoustic activites in the background, that had occurred so quickly and seemingly random. i took an number of these details, and began assembling a new recording. in the final work, i have altered the pitch and sequence of the sounds - and expanded many mocroscopic audio fragments - in order to create an abstraction of the space; nevertheless, the entire composition is made up of the original sounds recorded during this initial walk through the space. the end result is a kind of transformed audio reflection of the city market itself.

in an attempt to further some interaction with the produce market itself, and to expand upon my original intentions of walking through a public space and having moments of private audio experience; the second part of the installation involved placing some small labels in various parts of the produce market in an attempt to suggest a possible map for audio engagement. my interest being not just to send you out on an audio treasure hunt, but to suggest that a visit to an unfamiliar (or even familiar) place can extend beyond the visual experience, and yield a feast for the ears as well as the eyes. this place was filled with sounds - both beautiful and ugly - and it was my hope that one could find the time to explore this notion of active listening further.

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