Five Sound Questions to Anke Eckardt

The first sound installation I saw at this years TodaysArt festival in The Hague was Anke Eckardt’s ‘!’. I was impressed by the impact it had, especially in a place like The Hague’s Atrium. 

A good reason to find out who had made this installation and ask her to answer my Five Sound Questions. So here are Anke’s answers! You can read more about her and her work on her website www.ankeeckardt.com.

1. What sound from your childhood made the most impression on you?

The sounds of my stomach.

2. How do you listen to the world around you?

 In the middle of my artistic research project ‘Vertical Hearing’ (2008-2010) I decided to train one of the less needed and therefore less developed human abilities - I decided to consciously listen to the world vertically. Airplanes, helicopters, historical documents which make you imagine the sounds of falling bombs, noises from the top of big cranes, thunder, birds, noises from the top of high buildings, hanging PA-systems, announcements in big public spaces - these sounds coming from above are semiotically fascinating.

They are either caused by nature or if by humans in a rather flat landscape, then only with the help of technological means. Many of them are closely connected to the representation of power. Decoding different layers of the coded urban sounds coming from above kept me busy for quite a while.

3. Which place in the world do you favor for its sound?

All places where you can stand on the beach listening to the sea. 

4. How could we make sound improve our lives?

 Through choice. Aesthetically, physically, psychologically speaking there doesn’t seem to exist a perfect soundscape. What is good for you might not be good for you in the next moment. Someone else will probably perceive the same sounding environment in a totally different way.Being able to choose from a most rich variety of soundscapes and dynamics that environment we want to listen to in a specific moment or time in our lives is one of my favourite, somehow utopian ideas.

5. What sound would you like to wake up to?

Relative, analogue silence (as opposed to absolute, digital silence) ° . ° 

Also read the answers of other artists in the Five Sound Questions section.