AHMANSON ·MURPHY fiNE ARTS IMPRINT THE AHMANSON FOUNDATION has endowed this imprint to honor the memory of FRANKLIN ~ MURPHY who for half a century served arts and letters, beauty and learning, in equal measure by shaping with a brilliant devotion those institutions upon which they rely. 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd aa 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Art Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation, which was established by a major gift from the Ahmanson Foundation. 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd bb 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM EARTH SOUND EARTH SIGNAL 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd ii 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd iiii 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM Earth Sound Earth Signal Energies and Earth Magnitude in the Arts DOUGLAS KAHN UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles London 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd iiiiii 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kahn, Douglas, 1951–. Earth sound earth signal : energies and earth magnitude in the arts / Douglas Kahn. — 1 [edition]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-25780-1 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-25755-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-95683-4 (ebook) 1. Sound in art. 2. Radio noise. I. Title. NX650.S68K24 2013 700.1′08—dc23 2013014804 Manufactured in the United States of America 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fiber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd iivv 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. Thomas Watson: Natural Radio, Natural Theology 25 2. Microphonic Imagination 34 3. The Aeolian and Henry David Thoreau’s Sphere Music 41 4. The Aelectrosonic and Energetic Environments 53 5. Inductive Radio and Whistling Currents 69 6. Alvin Lucier: Brainwaves 83 7. Edmond Dewan and Cybernetic Hi-Fi 93 8. Alvin Lucier: Whistlers 106 9. From Brainwaves to Outer Space: John Cage and Karl Jansky 115 10. For More New Signals 122 11. Sound of the Underground: Earthquakes, Nuclear Weaponry, and Music 133 12. Long Sounds and Transperception 162 13. Pauline Oliveros: Sonosphere 174 14. Thomas Ashcraft: Electroreceptor 187 15. Black Sun, Black Rain 193 16. Star-Studded Cinema 205 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd vv 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM vi / CONTENTS 17. Robert Barry: Conceptualism and Energy 218 18. Collaborating Objects Radiating Environments 227 19. Joyce Hinterding: Drawing Energy 237 20. Earth-in-Circuit 255 Notes 259 Index 317 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd vvii 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM Illustrations 1. Trajectory of a lightning-generated whistler through the magnetosphere 15 2. Sonnblick Observatory 29 3. Charles Burchfield, Telegraph Music 49 4. Idealized whistler event structure: noise, silence, glissando 81 5. Alvin Lucier, graphic score for Music for Solo Performer 87 6. Alvin Lucier practicing brainwave control in the Brandeis Electronic Music Studio 91 7. Edmond Dewan at his brainwave control device 96 8. Seismogram of Tokyo earthquake recorded in Potsdam by Ernst von Rebeur-Paschwitz 138 9. Seismograms of the Trinity atomic bomb test recorded at Pierce Ferry (740 km away) and Tucson (437 km away), Arizona 140 10. Tribute to Victory celebration 143 11a. Hugo Benioff with his electric cello 147 11b. Hugo Benioff’s loudspeakers 148 12. Seismograph stations arrayed across the United States during Operation HARDTACK underground nuclear tests 150 13. Alice Neel, Sherry Speeth 152 14. Gordon Mumma, Medium Size Mograph 1963 160 vviiii 99778800552200225577880011__PPRRIINNTT..iinndddd vviiii 2277//0077//1133 99::4466 AAMM