One of my strongest memories of a place that matters is the Armstrong Creek, a small tributary of the Susquehanna River that flows through my family’s farm in Pennsylvania. It was the focus of many of my childhood activities: ice skating and playing hockey in the winter, swimming and fishing in the warmer weather, and family picnics on holidays and special occasions.
It wasn’t until I went away to college in Philadelphia and would return to the farm on visits, that I began to realize the healing power of the creek’s sounds. On a particular visit during an upheaval in my life, I sought the creek’s restorative council. At that time, hearing the water, was like hearing the sound of an old friend’s voice. The water’s voices, although not conclusive, seemed to be encouraging me to follow my own path.
On more recent visits, I love to sit quietly at creekside and allow myself to be mesmerized by the infinite sound of the water. Although the sound of the creek was a constant accompaniment in my youth, I heard it, but didn’t really listen to it. Now, I’m listening. Although the landscape has changed, the soundscape of the Armstrong Creek has remained timeless.
Listen to an audio recording that I made on a recent visit to the Armstrong Creek
The gallery for contemporary art KW / RANDLAGE from Worpswede in Germany has invited NEON KUNST to be part of the exhibition concept „Wahlverwandtschaft“ which is german for Chousn Family. We have sent out a call to our chosen family asking them to each send us a photo of their work. Unlike the currently standard digital exhibition formats on the Internet, we will transform the artists‘ contributions into an analogue exhibition. The submitted images will be printed out and exhibited as color photos in postkard size. In this way, all works are presented on the same level and from an entirety similar to a group photo of our chosen family.
For us, chosen family is about nurturing and expanding friendships with openness and coriosity. Neon Kunst is a place that has valued and cultivated this openness from the very beginning. In these strange and uncertain times, our connections and celebrating our diversity are more important than ever. With this exhibition we would like to stage our community artistically and celebrate its power. We want an extended family without borders.
I am honored to participate in this exhibition.
Participating Artists: Ángeles Alarcón - Bill Allen - Lotte Marie Allen - Lindy Annis - Andy Aquarius - Noise Armada - Ignatz B - Roland Barth - Fredie Beckmanns - Rich Bitting - Berthold Bock - Frank Bölter - Laure Boer - Peter Boue - David Braithwaite - Raving Mad Carlos - Ricky Castro - Isabel Cavenecia - Breeda CC - Ediciones de Cero - Christine Cheung - Dan Dansen - Ole Debovary - Götz Drope - Tanja Ehmann - Manfred Eichhorn - Yvonne van Eijden - Fatima and Hantsé - Dzahid Filipovic - Das Frenk - Manfred Fuchs - Gita Fuori - Lady Gaby - Patrick Gaden - Octavio Garabello - Ingo Gerken - Salome Gersch - Beat Gipp - Ronald Gonko - Eleonora Goroh - Jan Gottschalk - Reinhold Gottwald - Elke Graalfs - Florian Grove - Friederike Hammann - Joanna Harvey - Marc Hasselbach - Kenta Hayashi - Wojtek Hoeft - Stephan Homann - Franz Hugo - Nicholas Immaculate - Henrik Jacob - Uwe Johnas - Kaddi & Tom - Doreen Katerbau - Aurelia van Kempen - Heinz Kernebeck - Werner Kernebeck - Gustav Kleinschmidt - Andreas Knäbel - Robert Knutson - Karen Koltermann - Cal Kowal - Takuya Kurihara - Eike Laeuen - Rosa Landers -Robert Lange - Vasja Ris Lebaric - Itamar Lerner - Andy Leuenberger - Pastor Leumund - Julia Lipinsky - Jenny Löbert - Antonia Low - Philip Luddite - Frauke Menzinger - Manfred Michl - Maitane Midby - Regina Mielich - Stefan Mildenberger - Minna - Akimbo Moonchild - Timo Moors - Alice Morey - Tarik Mustafa - Nele - Crystal Neon - Silvia Nettekoven - Nettmann - Netzeauswassser der Villa Kuriosum & Swoosh Anatta - Gertrude Neuhaus - Sara Noubani - Jano Nym - Bárbara Oliveira - Kenji Omori - Panpirat - Txus Parras - Mark Patsfall - Jean Peut-etre - Olivia Pils - Susann Poenisch - Thorsten Prothmann - Arian Rassoul - Oliver Rednitz - Maria Salangina - Maike Sander - Toby Saunders - Noa Schaub - Danja Schilling - Felicitas Schreier - Anton Schwarzbach - Olivia Wilhelmine Seiling - Spunk Seipel - SHOXXX - Caren Sielaff - Carlos Silva - Elisabeth Sonneck - Juwelia Soraya - SP38 - Nicola Staeglich - Michail Stamm - Anne Katrin Stork - May Lan Tan - Marciana Timmermans - Miss Tobi - Peter Torp - Dorit Trebeljahr - Jana Troschke - Wolfgang T roschke - Marie S Ueltzen - Vauleben - Katia Vonna Beltran -Theo Vonwood - Florian Wagner - Carola Wedekind - Wer Da - Barbara Westermann - Lorenz Wiedemann - Lale Willan - Gisela Wrede - Merina Yamada - Jo Zahn - Sibylle Zeh - Leon Zuodar
Eröffnung: Do.07.10.2021 16 - 21 Uhr
Weitere Termine:
Fr.08.10.2021 15 - 19 Uhr
Do.14.10.2021 15 - 19 Uhr
Do.21.10.2021 15 - 19 Uhr
Finnisage: Fr.22.10.2021 15 - 19 Uhr 16 - 21 Uhr
Die Veranstaltungen finden unter den gültigen Corona Regelungen statt.
2/10/2020
This is a hydrophone field recording from a relatively "quiet" area on Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande. Florida. Two mics were dropped in about 7' of water about 150 yards from the main channel.
The powerboat prop noises were at a minimum. The water noises from the wave action on the boat I was recording from are in the foreground. Also, notice the "clicks", perhaps fish? Something was bumping the mics, perhaps also fish? Boats, boats and more boats can be heard in the background.
Here's a link
2/9/2020
Here are some recent field recordings from coastal mangroves near Englewood, Florida. I recorded Oyster Creek, Lemon Bay, and Lemon Creek.
In the first recording the hydrophones were about 6' apart in 12" of water. Oyster Creek is a tidal estuary and the tide was rising. At about the 5' mark, listen as a school of minnows repeatedly bumps against the hydrophone phone lead.
Give them a listen here: https://soundcloud.com/richbitting
Here's a link to Piotr's Podcast in case you missed it: Avantgarde & Beyond with Piotr Grella-Możejko - Episode IV: The Sonoscapes of Rich Bitting This was originally podcast in July of 2019.
The episode centers on the environmental music of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based composer Rich Bitting who takes compositional cues from the sounds of nature as well as the sounds of our urban civilization.
My new "Honey Bee" piece will be included in this exhibit.
Redbud, a new exhibition of art and music by Rich Bitting opens November 16 at Collector’s Art Group, 225 E. 6th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. The exhibition features 16 mixed media works accompanied by 16 digital audio works.
In addition to the visual work, the exhibition Redbud will feature Redbud Revisited a new audio release that accompanies 13 new visual works. Redbud Revisited is available as an audio CD, a limited edition audio CD, and a digital download.
A previously released audio CD, Redbud…
Read moreJoin me Friday, November 17th from 5:30 to 7 PM as I lead a sound walk at the Fernald Nature Preserve. The walk begins with a brief 15 minute introduction to listening skills. We'll then walk silently, at an easy pace for about an hour. We will pause to gather to re-orient our listening and adjust to different ways of listening. We'll share our experiences at the end of the walk. This deep listening activity will open your ears!
I'll be showing some new photos, November 3rd and 4th in Studio 258 at the Essex. Josh Parrott has kindly given me some wall space to hang 15 new photographs. Josh will be showing some of his recent paintings, and Jennifer Parrott will have some of her photography as well. It is rumored that there will be some live music, so why not stop by and make a night of it?
My electronic music work, Beech Forest in the Moonlight, has been accepted as part of the International Festival of Electroacoustic Music - MUSLAB 2017. It will be presented November 13th, as part of the Third Transmission at ESPACIO SONORO Autonomous Metropolitan University Xochimilco in Mexico City. I am humbled and delighted to be included in this event.
To Reconsider Melody
By Rikki Santer
for Richard Bitting after “Canticle of the Redbud”
Your head inside a temple bell tiny temple
bells inside your head. You shapeshift into
a zen galaxy of shimmering silence, then whirl
tarantella atop a sunlit spider strand swaying
with rhymes of dew drops from your garden’s
redbud tree. Listen. The tender fizz of heart
leaves, the wee clicks of kinship roots deep
in the belly of your backyard ravine. This
soundscape sonogram reminds us. Pause
and harvest…
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Friday, September 29th, 6 - 8 PM
Columbus, OH
Canticle of the Redbud, 20" x 30", mixed media on canvas, Rich Bitting
An exhibition exploring how we interact with music
as a central aspect of our humanity
The Columbus Cultural Arts Center (CAC) will host a large juried exhibition of contemporary works by Ohio artists, in a challenge set forth by guest curator, local poet and writer, Steve Abbott. Framed by a nod to synesthesia, SIGHT OF MUSIC”will present visual…
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Early Autumn Rain, Unity, Ohio is part of a compilation of field recordings by IFAR in BandCamp.
Early Autumn Rain, Unity, Ohio is a field recording of a rainy night at a
cabin in Unity Woods, Unity Ohio, near the Edge of Appalachia Preserve in
Adams County, Ohio recorded in October of 2003. The foreground staccato
of rain with background ostinato of insects completes this calming
soundtrack.
My soundscape composition "Frozen Stream-Waggoner Riffle" will be played by a 30 spkr snd system at Yongin Poeun Art Gallery Korea-August 19.