Edith Sitwell “My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music and silence”.
Throughout this assessment I have discovered that if someone can hear silence, they are not listening closely enough. In most situations when the word ‘silence’ is used, it is being referred to as a lack of speaking, music and dominant noises. However, it is an extremely rare circumstance that silence is ever actually achieved.
Recently I visited the silent reading room in the state library. A room which in its own title claims to be silent. However during a 15minute period of sitting and listening I heard the creaking of chairs, turning of pages, footsteps, doors opening, table adjusted, faint whispers, digital click of tourists taking photos, the recoil of someones headphones and heavy breathing. The room was far from silent, however almost as close as you can get to it.
On the contrary if you were to enter a completely natural environment alone, the earth still provides noise. Wind in the trees, wind pushing leaves along the ground, birds singing above, the air itself appears to have a sound surrounding you.
Our ability to hear silence is actually our ability to block out the noises around us.
During my site visit I went to a playground in Albert Park. As seen on my poster, I focused primarily on the voices encompassing the area. I noticed that one noise made my the human voice can depict a vast number of emotions. A child’s scream could relate to joy, fear, pain, anger, excitement or sadness. The tonal differentiation completely altering our perception. Of course once you add the sense of sight, a greater understanding can be had through the reading of facial expressions.
The same can be said about laughter, whilst you would presume laughter primarily illustrates happiness, this is not always the case. Parents for example, have mastered what I like to call the ‘exhale laugh’. One which pushes a lot of air out of your mouth without making a large noise. Often done as a smirk or with sarcasm. Within the playground parents constantly did this laugh when watching their children do something or say something ridiculous. It was also present within conversations between different parents as they compete to be the best mother.
Nearby, a tennis court held lessons to young teenagers. Next to this was a young adult yoga class. It appeared to me as though the landscape was designed as a progression of our lives. Beginning as an innocent child in the playground, to learning skills on the tennis court, progressing to a young adult at yoga and then back to the playground as a parent. What was interesting about this however, is the differentiation between the way people spoke in each section. Parents develop a subconscious voice for when addressing children. Using simplistic words and speaking slowly but with great expression. However at yoga, it was clear that the instructor whilst being younger than the attendees, had the greatest authority. At each stage, their was a person of power, someone in control of the situation and their voices reflected this.
When you stop and listen to your surroundings, you begin to notice the noises you subconsciously make and ignore yourself. Each a product of your ears choosing what to listen to.
