So, last week our fav PhD holder, Dr. Heather Spence came to Cancún. She came to put the hydrophone system (EAR) back inside the sculpture The Listener after extracting the data. And of course we were on the water to help with logistics, document the visit and earn a couple of beers. We also checked on the growth of life in, on and around the sculpture. We were happy to found that two spiny lobsters had moved in.
We asked “la doctora” Spence to write something about the project cause she is way more elquent than us.
While at the MesoAmerican Reef working establishing the PAM program, I found kindred spirit in the underwater sculpture artist Jason deCaires Taylor. He was scoping out potential new projects for the National Parks and we bonded discussing scientific and artistic goals. His special interest was in documenting sculptures over time as they evolved into artificial reefs; I was interested in long-term monitoring of the health of the coral reefs with my PAM program. We wanted to involve the local community in ocean conservation.
“The Listener” was born – a combination art piece and science lab off the coast of Cancun, deployed in 2012 and continuing to captivate snorkelers and record the evolving reef soundscape. This underwater sculpture houses a microphone to monitor the birth of the reef via sounds of animals such as snapping shrimp and fish. Jason and I worked together to find funding and materials as well as on the design of the sculpture (this needed to satisfy the functional demands of audio recording while also serving an aesthetic synergy with the reef). The success of “The Listener” has inspired other art/science extensions, including a section of an underwater museum called MUSA (“Museo Subacuatico de Arte”), and the soundscape for reef photography exhibits. Our piece has also been included in award winning documentaries including a micro-documentary film “World of Sound” and various other forms of media including publications in Scientific America, Science Friday, and the Smithsonian.
Hydrophone system (EAR) with Dr. Heather Spence at the MUSA Underwater Museum from The Stills Lifestyle Agency
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La semana pasada vino a Cancún nuestra doctora de cabecera, Dra. Heather Spence, a re-instalar el hidrófono (EAR) en la escultura The Listener después de haber extraído la información que este grabó durante los últimos meses en la galería Punta Nizuc del Museo Subacuático de Arte. Así que el #TheStillsCrew fué a apoyar con la logística, documentar la imersión y ganarse unas cervezas. El trabajo incluía monitorear el crecimiento de vida dentro, sobre y alrededor de la escultura. Encontramos a dos langostas espinosas del caribe viviendo felizmente adentro 🙂
Pueden ver más del proyecto de la Dra. Spence en World of Sound, el corto documental que le hicimos en el 2014. Mismo que fué parte de la selección oficial del Beneath the Waves Film Festival y se presentó en California y Florida. Yiey por nosotros!
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