A Sound Garden



8/27/12 Pitt Artist Pen, watercolor, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

It had been more than a decade since I had last visited A Sound Garden, a public artwork on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property on Sand Point. Back then, as I recall, you could simply drive up and experience the strange music produced by the wind passing through its metal tubes, as if in a city park. But ever since 9/11, the NOAA facility has buttoned up its security. I had to show photo ID, and the guard at the entry station filled out a rather lengthy form with my driver’s license information before he would give me a parking permit to enter.

 

On a sunny Monday afternoon, I had the Sound Garden completely to myself. If I hadn’t been occupied with the task of sketching, I think I might have been a little spooked listening to the eerie concert alone. A few crows came by eventually, but they didn’t make the experience any less eerie.