Nathan Wolek

@profwolek.bsky.social

254 Followers 192 Following

Sound Artist & Audio Researcher. #StetsonU Professor of Digital Arts. 2x Fulbright Scholar. Co-director of #YngSoundSeekers.

Logo for Acoustical Society of America. Their large acronym A-S-A rests on top of the full name below. On the left is a large light blue dot with smaller dark blue dots forming concentric circles around it, evoking sound waves radiating outward.
Photo description: Night time with low hanging clouds overhead. Looking across an empty illuminated street toward a dark tract of farm land. In the distance are mountain silhouettes. Both the launch pad just over the horizon and the cloud overhead glow from the fiery rocket engines. In the foreground are 2 microphones. Text reads, "Lompoc, CA. 19 June 2026, 1:50. Sound On."
“Welcome to Brigham Young University” sign at the edge of campus. It is a gray stone wall about 12 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Two pillars frame the ends. The middle is a taller, half circle to make room for the university seal. Beyond the wall, a dense patch of green trees fills the frame.
Photo: A white smoke trail topped by a faint orange glow arcs against the clear blue sky toward the left of the frame. In the foreground, 3 mic stands with assorted cables are situated on a wide, grassy path that trails away from the viewer. There is scrub vegetation on either side with a lone pine tree towering over the right side of the photo. Text reads, "Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL. 1 April 2026, 18:35. Sound On."
Logo of Volusia County Florida. Above the text at the bottom, there is a 3-color graphic that depicts the sun on a horizon.
Sitting on set in armchairs during our interview. The anchor and I are discussing something and gesturing with our hands. Anchor Stephanie Rivas sits on the left, while myself, Marvel Olson, and Chaylee Martin are lined up on the right.
Dr. Nathan standing at a podium in the ACA Harris Theatre. Members of the audience in the first two rows can be seen in the foreground with their backs to the camera. On the screen behind me is the title card for our documentary, Postcards from Canaveral. The subtitle reads "an audio tour by Young Sound Seekers."
Slow motion video. Looking out from Turtle Mound toward the Atlantic Ocean. The tops of green trees and other vegetation sway in the wind. The sky is grey with rain falling in the distance from clouds overhead.
Slow motion video. A fishing dock extends into the lagoon about 100 yards away. The lagoon shore on the left is covered in dense mixture of trees and mangroves. Small waves lap in the brownish water below, while the sky is filled with puffy white clouds.
Slow motion video. A beach ramp descends toward the sand. The shoreline stretches far into the distance with the ocean waves crashing on the right and small dunes covered in vegetation on the left. No people are present.
Title card from the documentary. The image shows a wooden ramp descending toward the beach with the Atlantic Ocean filling the horizon. Text reads, "Postcards from Canaveral. An audio tour by Young Sound Seekers."
Screenshot from the web page linked in this post. The title reads, "Young Sound Seekers Listening Activities, Complete Collection." There is a link at the top to Download Lesson Plan. The bottom of the page contains our introductory statement.
Graphic for the 188th ASA conference. It features the black silhouettes of 5 jazz musicians against a yellow background. From left to right, they are playing banjo, fiddle, clarinet, trumpet, and string bass. The logos for the ICA and ASA organizations float above their heads. Below them, the text reads: "188th Acoustical Society of America meeting, joint with 25th International Congress on Acoustics."
Title slide from my presentation. Two young men from Young Sound Seekers outside wearing headphones. Kyle stands next to a microphone about to clap his hands together. Francesco's hands are folded together resting along with his chin on top of his mobility cane. The text reads: "An audible speed of sound in air demonstration for outdoor settings. Dr. Nathan Wolek, Professor of Digital Arts. Lydia Pfund Endowed Professor. Stetson University."
Close up of books on metal library shelves. The bindings face out so that people can read the titles printed on them. Among other titles about listening sit 2 copies of “Noise” by David Hendy.
Exterior of the CIBC Theater. The marquee is gold with the building name in white letters. Its top has a wavy shape, almost like a sine wave. The white show board on the side reads “Hadestown” in black letters. People are cuing up under the sign to present their tickets.
Exterior of the Art Institute of Chicago. The 3 story, grey stone building looks wide and flat with grey skies behind it. The central entrance sits at the top of stairs that are about half the length of building, and is framed by a triangular roof peak. The three windows above each door are tall rectangles with a semi-circle on top. This shape is mimicked by the stone work on either side of the entrance.
Our family poses for a photo under the iconic red billboard at the corner of Clark & Addison in daylight. It reads “Wrigley Field, home of Chicago Cubs. Marlins vs Cubs, 6:40 PM.” From left to right is Amy, my dad, Bethany, me, & Penny.
Looking North across the Chicago River at DuSable Bridge. On the water, a tour boat heads east toward Lake Michigan. Across the river are the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower, skyscrapers from the 1920s. The Wrigley Building has an almost white stone facade, an unusual triangular footprint, and a clock tower. The Tribune Tower has a darker stone facade and neo-gothic details, like the flying buttresses at the top of its tower.
Dad poses on the street across from the old family home. The covered front porch is 8 steps above the street & a white screen door covers the entrance. Although this bungalow style house was built in the 1930s, it has had several updates over the decades. The exterior was covered in the light cream stucco. Our family added the second floor apartment to accommodate extra family after World War 2.
A courtyard apartment building. A metal gate closes off the entrance to the central courtyard that sits in the middle of the U shaped building. It is 3 stories tall with a light red brick facade & sandstone accents.
Downtown Chicago, looking across Ida B Wells Drive. Cars pass in the foreground. A mural is on the side of a building across the street. In the distance is Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower), the city’s tallest skyscraper.
Group photo with the Young Sound Seekers. This photo was taken on the Stetson campus at our final monthly outing. The group of 19 is posing by Holler fountain, a landmark in the center of campus. Behind us are tall palm trees, while the ground beneath us is brick pavers.
Cutting the cake. Miss Meghan standing behind a picnic table cutting the slices as several hungry kids wait for a piece.
Before the group photo. Everyone gathers together by the Holler Fountain on Stetson's campus while we wait for our photographer to set up. The group is wearing a mix of bright yellow, pink, and blue t-shirts with our logo.
Selfie in my office wearing my brand-new Young Sound Seekers t-shirt. The color is bright blue.
Score Part 4: Structure This piece will exist from January 20, 2025 until January 20, 2029. If for any reason, both the current President and Vice President leave office prior to the end of this term, then the piece may end early. If not, then it will last four years.
Text reads "Sound On." Photo description: Photo of Nathan Wolek standing in the gallery. He is wearing a beige sweater, glasses, standing with his hands in pockets, and looking at the camera. To the left is a speaker on a pedestal. Behind him are the pages of the text score on the wall.
Score Part 3: Form Because it is not possible to render an audio file with a duration of 4 years, this piece will need to be generative. Use a computer software program such as Cycling'74 Max to generate sonic output in real time. It should be presented in a gallery setting rather than a concert, so that changes in the output can unfold for hours at a time, from open to close.
A young man with curly hair and a white hoodie faces away from the camera. He is facing the text of the score hanging on the gallery wall, printed on four sheets of standard paper. To the right side is one of the speakers playing sound. On the wall above the text score can be seen the name "Nathan Wolek".
Score Part 2: Method Use the process of time stretching to dramatically increase the duration of this speech from 32 minutes to 4 years (one term of the United States President). This transformation of duration is central to the piece, since universities and other declared enemies of the current administration will feel the impact of our recent election for the next four years.
Two people sit in chairs, facing away from the camera so that we only see their backs. They are facing the text of the score hanging on the gallery wall, printed on four sheets of standard paper. To the left side is one of the speakers playing sound. Text reads, "Sound on. Enemies. February 4, 2025, 15:15."
Page 1 of the score. Text reads, "Material In 2021 prior to his time in Congress, the current Vice President of the United States gave a speech about higher education in our country entitled "The Universities are the Enemy". This was not a brief sound bite. This was not a long-winded debate answer. This was a 32-minute speech outlining his assessment of American higher education to a national conservative conference. Use the audio from this speech as the sole source material for further audio processing."
Text reads, "Sound on. enemies. January 28, 2025, 10:45." Photo description: View of the gallery installation. Two folding chairs sit facing away toward two small speakers on pedestals to the left and right of the frame. On the wall are four sheets of paper containing the text score for the piece.
Nathan Wolek leading the group in Listen Pair Share. I am standing with my hands behind my back, talking to three small groups to my right as they report on their conversations about the soundscape.
Online promo for the event. Features a photo of a park ranger and visitor sharing headphones while they smile and share a small audio field recorder. The text reads: "Listen & Learn. December 12. Join us for an engaging NPS training to discover how sound serves as a powerful tool for interpreting and conserving our natural and cultural resources. 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Canaveral National Seashore. New Smyrna Beach, FL."
Conference table covered by black tablecloth, surrounded by six chairs. At the end, sits a laptop at the far end, there are stacks of books. Beyond the table are two Genelec speakers.
Sunset over the marsh land. The sky is bright, orange and red and the distance, with pink and deep purple clouds directly overhead. In the foreground are tall, grasses, with water just beyond that reflects the whole scene from the sky above.
Poster image for the symposium. The background looks like the circular rings of a tree trunk's cross section. Some of the outer rings have been used to create lines of music notation. Small drawings of 5 trees are also inserted in the composition. The center circle is a dark grey, giving the sense that the music and trees are orbiting around it. The most prominent text reads: "In The Field 2, 4 - 6 July 2024." Smaller text read: "A three day event exploring the themes, issues and practices of contemporary field recording. London College of Communication and online. UAL: creative research into sound arts practice. Book now: crisp.org."
5 people stand posing for a group photo. In the middle is a wooden sign (approximately 4 feet wide) with trail names & directional arrows. Behind the group are tall trees of a moderately dense forest. The ground is covered in leaf debris.
Text reads "Hurricanes and HydroMoths". The small recording device is attached to a stainless steel water bottle sitting on some steps. A long blue marine rope lies in a messy pile beside the bottle with one end attached to the bottle's top handle.
3 microphones on table-top stands pointed toward the camera. On the left is a small diaphragm condenser, center is a shotgun mic, and on the right is a large diaphragm condenser. Next to them on the desk is a Zoom multi-channel audio recorder with headphones connected to it.
Screenshot of the original tweet. A text transcription is contained in my post.
Title slide from my presentation. The text reads: "Hurricanes & HydroMoths: How does a low-cost recording device perform in extreme weather?" The photo shows a fishing dock extending out into the lagoon. Six people are on the uncovered platform at the end with some leaning over the far railing. It's a sunny day with a few puffy clouds in the sky.