EAR Forest

The Art Department is excited to announce the creation of the EAR (Experimental Art Research) Forest!

The EAR Forest is a rough and uneven path through the woods. In an effort to make this accessible to those who cannot navigate this type of terrain, we will be recording all audiowork installations with a binaural microphone and making them accessible through this website. Thank you for your patience as we get that up and running!

Lewis & Clark is now the proud home of a 16-channel audio system nestled in the trees. Sound walks, auditory experiences, storytelling, musical compositions and more will be made available through scheduled programming soon.

The EAR Forest is located behind Lewis & Clark’s Fields Art Building and the Historic Bathhouse of the Estate Gardens. Nestled in the woods you will find 16 speakers mounted to trees along a path. The project has been funded by an anonymous foundation grant. Faculty, students and visiting artists will have the opportunity to incorporate the system into classes and events, allowing for dynamic soundworks and cross-disciplinary collaborations. The system is programmable to start and stop at specific times, loop as desired, set to be volume sensitive, and play up to 16 different files (one through each speaker) simultaneously.

General Directions and Maps

Please refer to Lewis & Clark’s visitor’s directions for details on our campus location.

For the location of the EAR Forest, please refer to this PDF map. The EAR Forest is located in the woods behind the Fields Art Building and next to the Historic Bathhouse and Tennis Courts.

Lewis & Clark Transportation and Parking

Parking at Lewis & Clark is very tight during the day/class hours. While we suggest taking public transportation to campus any time, we strongly suggest taking the Pioneer Express shuttle from downtown or another stop along the route if you are planning to attend the events that are earlier in the day (starting at 3:30 p.m.). Learn more information about the Pio Express shuttle. The downtown shuttle stop is at SW 6th and Salmon, in front of Starbucks.

Prior to 7 p.m., purchasing an ePermit is required to park on campus with a personal vehicle. Permits can be purchased online or at vending kiosks located in certain parking lots. More information and help with parking can be found by stopping at Campus Safety, #30 on this map. After 7 p.m., there is no charge for parking. And find additional  visitor parking information here.

Course Modification Grants for Engaging the EAR Forest

Through a generous 4-year grant, course modification funds are available to faculty who want to incorporate the EAR Forest into their courses. The stipends are meant to support faculty in augmenting existing course curriculum to utilize the new 16-channel sound system. Applicants should present a proposal that explains how they plan to modify an existing course to use the EAR Forest and what they hope it will offer. Selected faculty will receive support from the EAR Forest committee to facilitate their proposed course augmentations. We will also have trained student TechArts TAs to help with implementation (the system can play up to 16 different audio files (one through each speaker) simultaneously and is fully programmable and volume sensitive).

Due to the uneven terrain of the path, the site is not ADA accessible. All audio works will be recorded, archived, and made digitally available. The microphone used to record the space, a binaural microphone, recreates the spatialized quality of the sound in the space allowing anyone who cannot access the path to still experience the work in its true audio form.

Eligibility

Tenure-line faculty and continuing non-tenure line faculty in CAS are eligible. One application per person please.

Funds

Faculty receive $2000 for proposing and implementing modifications to an existing (or new) course and for documenting and sharing the work done. $1000 materials stipend is available for related course expenses.

Call for Proposals

We are accepting proposals for Spring 2024 and Fall 2024, with up to 6 in total available. In order to apply, we ask that you attend a site visit info session for the EAR forest: scheduled for every Wednesday and Friday 10/30-11/24 between 12pm-1pm (signage in front of Fields Art Building will direct you to the path (if you can’t attend, reach out to Sarah Cole, EAR Forest Administrative Coordinator, to set up a walk-through). We are particularly interested in proposals that incorporate the system in creative ways into the curriculum.

To apply, please fill out this EAR Forest Course Modification Grant application form.

Deadline for Course Modification applications is November 26, 2023.

Evaluation Criteria 

EAR Forest Course Modification Grant proposal should demonstrate how incorporating the audio system into curriculum will:

• Revise a current CAS course
• Innovate or expand the course
• Benefit the faculty, students, department and/or community
• Please note that immediate priority will be given to proposals that are for the upcoming Spring 2024 semester and for ideas that incorporate the system in creative ways into the curriculum and community.

Please submit questions to: Dann Disciglio and Jess Perlitz

Coming soon.

Coming soon.