Auscultation Points

Rich debuted his Soundscape Art Piece, Auscultation Points at his Ecotopian Tool Kit workshop in June 2024 at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens in Philadelphia, PA. This soundscape encourages you to immerse yourself and reflect on the parts of the arboretum that we typically hear, along with those sounds we cannot hear without assistance. These unheard sounds play a larger role in the health and stability of the ecosystem than we often realize.

This soundscape acts as an audio diagnosis of the overall ecosystem of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens.

Over several visits, Rich used various microphones to record sounds from plants, animals, and bodies of water. He then returned to the studio to layer and sometimes distort these sounds. The result is a soundscape that reflects the beauty of this place while highlighting human encroachment on nature and the potential losses if we don’t change our ways.

Rich was one of six applicants selected out of hundreds from a Panel of University of Pennsylvania professors and artist.

Currently Installed at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens in Philadelphia, PA (September 2024)

Sound Designer and Sound Recordist: Richard Hamilton