Society of Historic Sonic Happenings (SHSH)
Listen closely as The Society of Historic Sonic Happenings (SHSH) – an imagined experimental wing of the famous Bell Laboratories – reveals a secret sonic history of our surroundings.
a sound art installation and interactive performance
New Ohio Theater, 2019/2020
“Bell scientists catch sounds reverberating throughout the Village’s history in meticulously labelled mason jars. They then lead children through the Archives, listening and capturing new sounds. The message, mission and lesson is achieved, for history neither stops nor excludes.” [full review]
In 1920, as Bell Labs microphones ushered in the Golden Age of Radio, SHSH discovered that sound never dies and that the world is filled with the sounds of the past. But with the right device, at the right time, in the right place – and with your help – we can tap into these eternal frequencies and engage with the invisible layers of history around us.
We will work directly with SHSH scientists to preserve these rare and forgotten sounds – from the crunch of dried tobacco leaves in Sapokanikan, the earliest known name for the area now called Greenwich Village (September 23, 1447) to the squeak of a pigeon squab on the window ledge of the 10th floor of the Archive Building (April 14th, 2017) - and work to preserve them in special sonic time capsules (see video below).
TEAM: Adrienne Kapstein (lead artist - writer & director), Bhurin Sead (sound design), Hillary Verni (visual design) and researcher Paul Parkhill (co-founder of public art non-profit Place in History), Peter Musante & Sara Morgulis (co-producers)
SHSH Scientists (2019/20): Rachel Confrancisco, Brit Gossett, Alec Kirazian, LaToya Lewis and Akash Seeramreddi
public interactions
sound jars!
