After experiencing the Whale Creek sound guide, I have left with a new frustration with the multi media mode. Much of the information conveyed by the narrator in this podcast was communicated on plaques throughout the space. What information was not conveyed on these plaques, in my opinion, would have been better left unsaid. Intermittent rhetorical questions, campily voice-acted fictionalizations, and nonsensical linguistic musings undermine the only facet of the audio experience I appreciated: the narrator’s voice. The inclusion of an accompanying packet was cumbersome, and I mostly used it to take my own notes. My final complaint was the artists’ music choice, largely ambient music employed nonsensically, provided no value added to the experience. If anything, their brief inclusion of an Alicia Keys track could have set them up for prosecution over licensing rights violations.
Perhaps I left the Whale Creek experience underwhelmed because, according to the audio guide (but not the pamphlet) I had arrived at the inopportune time – morning instead of evening. Furthermore, I appreciate how this sound guide made me aware of the temporal limitations of the medium if it is not continuously, as I was not able to walk the entirety of the space in coordination with the guide due to construction. Lastly, I will concede my appreciation of the artist’s choice to separate their audio narrative into multiple episodes, to allow time for self reflection.