The most recent sound installation by artist Jana Winderen, Dive saw New York City’s seven-block-long Park Avenue Tunnel turned into a sea-themed soundscape for New York’s annual Summer Streets celebration. The project saw the tunnel temporarily made into pedestrian zone and fitted with more than 60 Meyer Sound loudspeakers to relay the sound of waves crashing along a seashore, as well as that of fish, seaborne insects and boats using Ambisonics.
The loudspeaker system configured by Tony Myatt, a professor at the University of Surrey: ‘There are a number of factors that led us to use Meyer Sound loudspeakers, including construction, size and weather resilience,’ he says. ‘Most significant is the high-quality design and sonic consistency, which means we can understand how a particular system design will perform wherever we take it.’
The audio system was divided into eight surround zones, each using eight UPM-1P loudspeakers split into upper and lower levels, and two 500-HP subwoofers. Winderen captured the recordings using DPA hydrophones, DPA d:screet 4060 omni microphones, and a Sound Devices 744T four-track recorder.
‘I make multi-layered mixes of the material, which requires exceptional clarity from the loudspeakers,’ says Winderen. ‘Using Meyer Sound allows me to deliver the detailed dynamics that immerse participants.’
Recent arts projects that have used Meyer Sound loudspeaker systems include Bill Fontana’s Vertical Echoes in the UK and Robert Henke’s Ritual in New York. The Meyer Sound components for this event were supplied by New York City-based WorldStage. Terry Jackson was project manager, and Kate Brown engineered the system integration specifics.
See also:
Case Study: Flying into the Dawn (Sound installation by Thor McIntyre-Burnie)
Interview: Aleks Kolkowski – In Search of Perfect Sound (Sound installation by Aleks Kolkowski)
Recording the ‘Ice Whisper’ (Arts recording project by Juergen Staack)
