WAR TUBA

steve-parker.net
The War Tuba is a wearable sculpture that works like a telescope for your ears. Modeled after obsolete acoustic locators of the 1930s, this device is made from salvaged marching band instruments, brazed copper, and plastic. Rather than produce music, the sculpture frames, amplifies, and subtlety harmonizes the immediate soundscape, inviting the viewer to engage in the act of focused listening. When the device is activated, the viewer becomes a featured performer in the composition, where they are, in turn, viewed by other viewers.
This video documents WAR TUBA RECITAL, and exhibition which examines the history of conflict through sound. Combing military artifacts (acoustic locators, air raid sirens, leaflet propaganda of Dr. Seuss, coded radio transmissions, the WWII Ghost Army, and the weaponization of marching bands) with the sonic philosophies of John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, and Cornelius Cardew, items are transformed into tools for awareness, discovery, and renewal.
The exhibition is conceived of as an ongoing performance where visitors realize a series of compositions using sonic headdresses, invented instruments, and graphic notation.
Video by Jose Lozano