Most people agree that this is the Information Age, but if you close your eyes and listen, it becomes clear that it is also the Age of Noise. We are constantly bombarded with hums, buzzes, whines, traffic, ventilation systems, disc drives, cell phones, sirens, aircraft, muzak, televisions, radios, car alarms, leaf blowers, jack hammers, compressors — biproducts of an overheated visual culture. It's no surprise that many people withdraw from our public hearing space and retreat into ipods or buildings with windows that don't open. 
Our project intends to empower our sense of hearing and deconstruct this sea of noise. In transforming this barrage of sounds into information about the way we live, the piece attempts to restore harmony and balance to our senses.
Anthropologist and poet David Guss invited sound artist, Bruce Odland to create "Harmony in the Age of Noise." Along with sculptor Mark McNamara and media artist Michael Luck Schneider, they will collaborate with over 80 undergraduates and grad students as well as professors and staff at Tufts University. Together they are designing and building a sonic observation post that will allow visitors to navigate through sound maps of the campus and surrounding community. Harmony in the Age of Noise will be a parabolic gazebo where the hub of students and traffic are harmonized through a mix of a real time feed, a collection of stored psychoacoustic maps, and visitors' sounds programmed to play like hourly chimes.
NEWS FLASH | Harmony in the Age of Noise has moved!
Harmony in the Age of Noise has moved to the Remis Sculpture Court in the Aidekman Arts Center, 15 South Campus Road, Medford on the Tufts campus.
Due to a scheduling conflict, on June 9th the Parabolic Gazebo and Sound Dial were removed from the roof of the Tisch Library, where they had resided for a little over a month. The gazebo was dismantled, the deck was cut down from 12' to 8', and the Sound Dial, amps, and speakers were stored in the Tufts Art Gallery.
On June 19th, the deck and Sound Dial were re-installed in the Remis Sculpture Court by Bruce Odland, Matt McVey, Sabri Reed, Mary-Ann Greanier, and Sarah Moshontz de la Rocha, with assistance from Tufts Facilities and the Tufts Art Gallery.
A 4'x4' Google Map photo of Sound Map locations and a photo of the Parabolic Gazebo hang on the wall of the sculpture court. Accompanied by the Live Feed featured on the gallery's New Media Wall, the Sound Dial sounds and looks terrific in its new space.
The Art Gallery's Summer Hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5pm. However, the Aidekman Arts Center is open most days throughout the summer, and the Sound Dial, which is in a public space, is accessible anytime the building is open.
Harmony in the Age of Noise will end its time at Tufts on August 10th (Sarah Moshontz de la Rocha's birthday!).