Two Ways of Seeing Noise

Two sets of research and art projects catalog the effects of noise pollution in urban areas and public green spaces.  An ongoing program of the European Commission relies on extensive research and visual modeling to depict ambient sound in major cities.  A series of works created by Zelig Kurland used photography to explore the soundscapes of New York and Portland.

Working closely with national and local governments, the European Commission’s Noise Mapping project measures sound in cities throughout the continent, the data in turn are used to create color coded maps highlighting noise levels by time and location.  The program gives planners a way to visualize the effects of ground and air traffic, industrial development, and other factors, and will help researchers and reformers examine policy proposals–including zoning changes and traffic rerouting–and explore the effects of environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature on ambient noise.  The project’s website include overview maps for Augsburg, Paris, and other cities. 

The European Commission’s mapping program emphasizes public aspects of sound and finds its ultimate ends in policy formulation.  Zelig Kurland’s Noiseways and Can You Hear the Green?, on the other hand, explored noise and personal experience.  While aware of sound pollution’s effects on the common good, Kurland’s 2000 and 2001 multimedia works explored the effects of sound on the individual level, particularly the relationship between noise and perceptions of beauty.  The two projects juxtaposed pictures taken throughout Portland and New York with sound recorded at the same locations, causing viewers to think more critically about the ways in which aural bleeding effects daily life.

Exploring the issue across scales, Kurland’s work and the ongoing European Commission mapping project complement one another, viewing sound pollution through the lens of inner experience and public policy.