About

Carnegie's Monocle is a collaborative investigation between Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Art and School of Music courses Real-Time Animation and Experimental Sound Synthesis , IDeATe (Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology) network, and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Oakland) to explore content of the library’s special collections and architectural design through immersive media and site-specific sound installation.  

 

This project engages with the library’s unique collection of electronic music instruments, historic sheet music as well as the library's own cultural significance to the city. The sound installation mixes resynthesized recordings of the library’s collection of songs celebrating locales around Pittsburgh with current-day site-specific recordings of these locations in 2019. The locations selected are
: The Duquesne Incline , South Side , Shady Side , and the Carnegie Library itself. Inspired by songs from the library's Historical Pittsburgh Sheet Music Collection - The Iron Horse Etude, South Side Polka, Shady Side Mazurka, and The Carnegie Library March,  the soundscapes present a sonic genealogy of the city transforms the notion of space, time and sound into a refreshed perspective, juxtaposing Pittsburgh’s past and present at the heart of its archival infrastructure.

 

The project is made possible through the generous support of the CMU IDeATe Network, and CMU's ProSEED Crosswalk. Grant.  Special thanks to Tara Goa, Joelle Killebrew, and the music staff at the Carnegie Library - Main for their support in making the project possible.

 

The composers, sound designers, animators, coders, and builders behind this exhibition are:

 

Elizabeth Maday, Margaret Carr, Kyle Leve, Rebecca Enright

Ada Rojas, Emma Franklin, LeRoy Gary, Yixiao Fu,

Erik Sargent, Michelle Janco, Tahj Spigner, Peter Sheehan

Eugene Li, Katherine Tender, Reymundo Lariosa, Sophia Videva

Mauricio Gil-Silva, Hojung Kim, Anna Gusman, Rachel Lee

Simone Zhang, Jee Yeon Rim, Cassie Scheirer

Lawrence Suh, Cassidy Pearsall, Derek Yan, Aman Tiwari,

Sheenu You