Lindemann, Serafine. “Calling the Glacier.” AntSpiderBee. Ant Spider Bee, 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2014.
http://www.antspiderbee.net/2013/09/calling-the-glacier/
Sound artist Kalle Laar’s project surprisingly does exactly what its title says. In an effort to make the reality of global warming tangible, he supplies a connection between those who live far away from the melting and the glaciers themselves. The project uses a microphone placed in Ötztal, Austria, which operates successfully in most weather conditions. Upon dialing the number, callers can listen in real time to the sounds of glaciers melting, water trickling, the communicating of nature in need. The glaciers become vividly personified as living damsels in distress as callers must listen to the sound of their demise.
I think this project is a genius way of connecting people from all over the world with a “faraway” problem that universally affects us all. The technology involved seems to have been designed to be durable and fairly independent. The call is direct and live, unedited by the project’s coordinators. The unaltered truth itself is enough to spark action.
