SONIC BLANKET
Sonic Blanket was a community-based,
multi-media art project conceived during the early days of the pandemic lockdown. As I walked through my neighborhood, the glow of lights inside all the houses made me feel at once comforted and melancholy, knowing that everyone inside was feeling the same fear and isolation. I wished I could give solace and protection to everyone in these homes. As a former community radio DJ, I found radio waves an apt metaphor: an invisible forcefield hovering above us and a comforting blanket we sleep below.
As an antidote to pandemic isolation, I collaborated with other artists and community members to develop the project. The central component of Sonic Blanket was a 15-minute sound collage that I created with local musician Weston Olencki and Brattleboro-based poet Diana Whitney. The piece was broadcast each night at midnight on Brattleboro Community Radio (WVEW 107.7fm) from December 2021 through December 2022 and on select Sunday afternoons.
The sound waves emitting from the tower of WVEW extend roughly 10 miles in every direction. This “sonic blanket” (or listening area) was the literal and metaphorical framework for the collaboration. All of the participants live beneath this sonic blanket. The sound recordings were made here, the poem was written here, and the voices in the piece are those of community members who call Brattleboro home.
In the Fall of 2021, I designed two 21" x 11" posters to promote the project's launch. During the first week of the radio broadcast, the posters were published as full-page ads in the Brattleboro Reformer and the Commons.
During the project's early days, I could not hold
in-person gatherings due to pandemic restrictions. To create a feeling of connection, I invited local listeners to submit photographs of the sky above them while they listened to the midnight broadcasts on WVEW and later posted them to www.sonicblanket.org.
LISTENING PARTIES
In the Spring of 2022, WVEW began to rebroadcast Sonic Blanket on Sunday afternoons to make it more accessible to listeners who could not listen at midnight. As pandemic restrictions began to loosen after months of isolation, I organized multiple public listening gatherings for people to come together in a shared physical space to listen to the live
broadcast as a community.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Sonic Blanket also consisted of a series of public artworks and events. During the summer of 2022, I partnered with Putney-based artist Amber Paris and local non-profit organizations, Artful Streets and the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, to develop a series of interactive artmaking events and public installations for Brattleboro’s monthly gallery walks. These included a poetry workshop inspired by the Sonic Blanket poem, a movement/dance workshop addressing grief and healing, a DIY artist book scavenger hunt, a screen print-your-own-t-shirt event, and numerous interactive installations in the alleyway that connects High St. and the Harmony Parking Lot.
SIGNS AND BANNERS
During the Spring of 2022, I created a series of outdoor signs made of inkjet prints mounted on wood and plexiglass, which I hung on trees and buildings throughout the broadcast area for
people to discover. Located in tucked away places and beside hiking trails, each sign featured the broadcast map and read: “You are beneath the cover of the Sonic Blanket.” A large banner featuring the same text was installed across Main Street in Brattleboro during September 11–17, 2022.
PHOTOGRAPHS & PRINTS
In addition to the public installations and
programming, I also created a series of
photographs and prints documenting the sky during broadcasts, a 15-minute Super 8 film, a book, and I designed and produced a 12" vinyl record featuring the radio piece.
Map of the Sonic Blanket Listening Area
(inkjet print and thread)
View of the Sonic Blanket Broadcast Area From Atop
Mt. Wantastiquet
Sonic Blanket Broadcast, Fort Dummer State Park
Sonic Blanket Broadcast, 12:00–12:15 AM (7/27/22)
Sonic Blanket Broadcast Facing East
Sonic Blanket LP
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Sonic Blanket Catalogue
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
PRESS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Seven Days Vermont
December 15, 2021
“At its core, "Sonic Blanket" is public art that reflects the resilience and interconnected-ness of the Brattleboro community during a time of isolation and trauma due to the pandemic.”
The Commons
December 15, 2021
“Sonic Blanket can be applauded not only for tapping into the rich and varied local arts scene, but also for calling on community involvement in such an essential way.”
Brattleboro Reformer
December 30, 2021
”Voices of different pitches and accents layer and echo. Some lines start undiscernible, then rise to the forefront, until we make out the words, ‘Even in darkness / there’s the light of memory’”
Keene Sentinel
September 9, 2022
“The project has since expanded beyond
the airwaves over the town with public art installations and art-making workshops. Starting Sunday, a banner will hang over Main Street until the following Sunday.”
Brattleboro Reformer
September 8, 2022
“Local artist Jonathan Gitelson hopes people won’t be freaked out when a banner hanging over Main Street soon reads, “You are beneath the cover of the Sonic Blanket.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special acknowledgment and gratitude to Denise and Paul Pouliot, Head Speakers of
the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People in New Hampshire, who graciously welcomed us into their home and shared their collection of traditional Abenaki instruments and traditions. The recordings we made at their home are featured prominently throughout the soundtrack of Sonic Blanket.The voices that are featured on the recording of Sonic Blanket were generously provided by community members who volunteered their time to assist with this project:
Zara Bode, William Forchion, Olive Gitelson, Cassandra Holloway, Robin Morgan, Daniel Quipp, Paula Smoot Sistare, Brandie Starr, Amanda Witman, and Diana Whitney.
PARTNERS
Brattleboro Community Radio (WVEW 107.7fm)
This project would not have been possible without WVEW's openness and generosity in providing us with a nightly broadcasting time slot.Erin Maile O’Keefe & Artful Streets
Deepest gratitude for inclusion and collaboration on Artful Streets and Brattleboro First Friday public programming.Brattleboro Museum & Art Center
Thank you to the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center for hosting a daytime broadcasting party in their galleries.Brattleboro Retreat Farm
Thank you to the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center for hosting multiple broadcasting parties on their grounds.