Project #1: Tape Loop Self-Portrait

For our first project we were to use an endless tape loop (mine is about 20 sec.) and portable tape recorder to record "found sound" that was familiar to our everyday experiences. These sounds were to serve as an audio self-portrait. For my recording I planned out several sounds that I knew I heard every day and I felt represented me well. I recorded them exactly at the point I wanted to for the exact amount of time I had planned. In doing so, although I did not realize at the time, it also provided an image of how obsessed I am with things being planned and in order. I began to realize this once we shared our loops in class and heard the complete randomness of some of the other students. So, in a sense, this project is a self-portrait in two different ways.