“Chicago Union Station” by Cartwright/Moorefield/Weeter (2004)

(the full version is a DVD in 5.1 surround, duration: 7:46; published by ICMC, as well as Organised Sound)

Recently, we mounted a group expedition to Chicago Union Station to collect sights and sounds. Over the course of the past three years, we have been working with combining audio and visuals in an increasingly intertwined manner. From its inception, our group has been involved in intermedia: our work is informed by the fact that media convergence is occurring not only in the physical world, but also inside the computer.
Recently, we produced a surround-sound studio artifact suitable for presentation on DVD players everywhere.
Our idea was to use a quotidian experience as a point of departure for a re-imagination. Things often repeated are stripped of excitement and mystery; but what if a very familiar place was experienced in a new way? What would someone who saw it for the very first time see?
On another level, we sought a focus for our desire to create a new reality, an immersive experience using computers. Union Station seemed ideal for our project on a number of levels: it’s easily accessible for sampling and filming, it’s a place with different environments, and it’s a point of departures as well as arrivals: a gateway.