TRACE: a memorial environmental sound installation

NEWS * NEWS * NEWS

Hiker with "Trace" knapsack

Trace was launched from July 21 - August 15, 1999. It will continue to be presented on a seasonal basis. Please contact Teri Rueb for details.

This web site was built for artists, funders and supporters of Trace in order to share news about the progress of the project. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those institutions and individuals who have contributed their enthusiasm, creativity and financial resources in an effort to bring this project to life.

Most of the pictures on this web site were taken during the summer of 1997. I have recorded much of my process, pictures of which can be viewed online. I think of these images as a trail of bread crumbs through a long and winding journey. Pictures from the earliest stages of the project in 1996 are also available for viewing online. A pilot video shot on location provides a glimpse of what it's like to experience the installation. Videotapes can be obtained by contacting me directly.

Much of my time developing the project was spent on-site testing the equipment, debugging the software interface, and determining the placement of memorials along the trail. I am especially grateful to Erik Conrad who served as my research assistant for the final launch. Pictures from the launch are now online.

I had the pleasure of hiking the trail with many wonderful people during several residencies at the Banff Centre . Particularly memorable were conversations with some delightful and extremely clever paleontologists and artificial life experts who were at The Banff Centre for the Digital Burgess Conference. I delivered a talk on the first day of the conference about my impressions of the Burgess Shale as a sculptor. These visionary thinkers reminded me of how important it is for scientists and artists to share dialog about their creative processes. Thank you so much to those of you who visited the installation, contributed soundworks, and to the many people whom I met and learned from along the trail, by the fire, and on starry evenings when we gathered to hear bugling elk in pitch black meadows.

Further information about the project including cd-rom documentation is available and can be obtained by contacting me at rueb@umbc.edu.