November 08, 2018
Linda Blaser
David Sanchez Burr on PBS NewsHour
An interview with David Sanchez Burr (left) was included in a PBS NewsHour report on the 2018 Fermentation Fest ...
Assistant Professor of Art David Sanchez Burr was interviewed by Jeffrey Brown of PBS NewsHour about his art installation, nowhereradio, set up in a Wisconsin field as part of Fermentation Fest.
Students Jake Ngugi ’21 and KeAnthony Thompson ’19 were instrumental in bringing the project to its completion.
“Jake used technical and fabrication skills learned through his Richter Scholar research last summer, and KeAnthony assisted in the installation,” Sanchez Burr said. “Both Jake and KeAnthony worked diligently through difficult weather conditions to help fine-tune the presentation of the work.”
A participatory solar-powered soundscape, nowhereradio invited visitors to broadcast their thoughts and ideas to the air from a central sound booth. Weather balloons tethered to radio receiver modules transmitted audience interventions, sound art, and narratives from local residents.
A computer science major who is on an engineering track, Ngugi found the art department project offered a great hands-on experience.
“This project gave me an opportunity to have a creative outlet and use my technical skills in another way,” Ngugi said. “It’s important in my field to have the technical know-how, but also to see how you can implement that in the world in other ways. Working one-on-one with Professor Burr, I was able to ask questions to better understand his thought-process when he’s thinking of how to present his ideas through art.”
Click here to view the PBS news segment.
