I ride the Staten Island Ferry almost every day. I live on Staten Island but I go to school, work, and other work related meetings and events in Manhattan. Because of this, I've developed a close relationship with the ferry. I know its sights, sounds, and smells as well as I know the ones in my own home. In a way, I do a "sound walk" on the ferry pretty frequently. Sometimes I read or listen to music but usually I just sit there. I think, daydream, fantasize, and do every other thing people find themselves doing in solitude. However, I figured that it would provide a different experience now that it was for a class project. This time, I would have to listen for something I could write about.
My sound walk occurred at 9:30 PM, going from Manhattan to Staten Island. They say that where you sit on the ferry says a lot about you. For this ride, I decided to sit on the outside deck on the upper level of the boat. There were one or two other people sitting in this area, but they were seated too far away from me to earn an accurate description in this blog post. Let's just pretend that one of them was Eddie Murphy and the other one was three little people stacked up in a big coat trying to pass as one person. But of course, this project is not about what I saw.
While the boat was still docked, I heard small waves crashing into the side of the boat. I could also hear the hum of the boat's engine. This hum grew louder as the boat started moving. About a minute into the ride, an announcement was played on the intercom. Its the same announcement I've been hearing twice a day for what seems like my entire life.
"May I have your attention please? Welcome aboard the Staten Island Ferry. Please listen closely to the following safety announcements. During docking, please blah blah blah blah nobody's actually listening to this and I'm probably scaring the shit out of the tourists."
I paraphrased a bit but you get the idea. Once the calm robot voice stopped talking, I was able to pay attention to the subtle noises around me. Sitting outside of the ferry provides a much more sensational experience then sitting on the inside. The sounds of the boat are louder on the outside, and you can hear the distinct sound of the ocean being pushed aside by the mammoth boat. It's a very relaxing mixture of sounds, and it can put you in a pleasant hypnotic state. That is of course, until the second announcement comes on.
"May I have your attention please? The ferry will be docking shortly. For your safety, please stay off all blah blah blah blah blah there's literally a coast guard boat behind us with a machine gun on it haha wtf."
So that's what you get when you ride the Staten Island Ferry at night; the calm symphony of the Atlantic Ocean, and the handsome voice of a faceless speaker box.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
4/1/16 AD CLEANSE DAY (Project for MED 399)
It's hard enough living in New York City without having products and services shoved in our faces on a constant basis. It seems that every empty space in the city has been filled with ads on top of other ads. It's nauseating
Posters which are often plastered in neighborhoods like SoHo, often times on the wooden barriers of construction sites, are also easy targets. Remember, no ad is safe. Whether they're pedaling jeans or your favorite band's new album, tear that shit down! (The ad for the album could make a cool poster for your apartment!)
And of course, the best example of the overbearing ads in NYC can be found in the subway. There you'll find ads on the walls of the stations and platforms, on the walls within the train cars, and even on the trains themselves.
As you probably know, I'm not the first one to complain about advertising in public spaces. Companies have looked to every possible object or screen that they can put their names on. It's impossible to escape. If you look straight, you'll see a poster. If you look up, you might see a billboard or an airplane banner. If you look down, you might see an ad on a parking lot divider. (That's a real thing.) And if you accidentally pop a curb because you're distracted by one of those parking lot divider ads, you can get a parking ticket with an ad on it. (Also a real thing.)
These ads are defacements. They've turned our city into an ugly mess of colors, words, and airbrushed models, and our city is crying because of it. It is our job as New Yorkers to clean up this mess. What I'm proposing is simple. I'm calling upon all of you wonderful New Yorkers to beautify your city by removing these ads. I'm talking about subway ads, posters, even billboards if you're bold enough. On April 1st, go forth and take back your city!
Subway platform ads are easy. They are large sheets with adhesive backs that can be easily cut out with a razor blade or box cutter (both of which are legal to carry in New York :) .) Simply cut along the edges of the ad and rip it off by one of the corners. You can even cut up certain parts of the ad and stick em on to other ads (no glue or tape required) to create some fun collage art!
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| Creative vandalism is definitely encouraged! |
Most importantly, have fun with it. Be as creative as your mind allows. If you find a way to knock out a big target like a billboard or bus ad, you'll be a hero in all of our eyes. It's like an awesome game where everybody wins!
So save the date. April 1, 2016. The day we clean up the commercial diarrhea that's stinking up our city.
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