This project was an exploratory collaboration artist with Lauren Strohacker and urbanSTEW. The Coyote Anthropophony was an investigation into the role of the coyote in the urban landscape. Moreover, we were exploring the various social connections the animal has with its surroundings. Lauren was selected for the Scottsdale Public Art Creative Residency and this project was part of that residency.
The project overall consisted of some sound explorations and trail cameras. It was an invigorating exercise combining the wild urban landscape of Phoenix with an experimental arts perspective.
I designed a basic system where a person could sing like a coyote into a microphone and then they would sound like a coyote. This sound could also turn into a police siren, which evidently they are quite similar. I only got as far as creating a howl and a yip, but perhaps more vocalizations are in the future.
A howl: hear the siren become a coyote and back and then …
A yip