Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

We made it! It’s been so wonderful to see everyone’s projects come to life, seeing where we all started and where we’ve ended up. Though it certainly wasn’t smooth sailing all the time, I’m proud of myself and my classmates for getting through to the end. I’m very grateful for Professor Carroll and Professor Stalbaum for providing us with the resources to be able to create these projects and the exhibition.

At the start, I felt I had too many ideas to narrow down into one cohesive work. I love to read and write in my free time, and it felt like I had a lot of these random pieces that spawned from some place in my mind, but that didn’t quite work together. It was refreshing to see how unique everyone’s ideas were, and seemingly no two were alike. After I had a grasp on the direction I wanted to take it, the writing just started to flow.

Collaborating with VIS 147A was an equally unique experience, one that I’m not sure I would have gotten in any other class. Seeing the lab and all the other students so in their element was incredibly inspiring, and I felt like I was a part of something so important. I had quite a few complications when testing my project, be that the audio wasn’t coming out, or the SD card wasn’t working properly, etc. But my partner and I worked together alongside Professor Stalbaum to fix it, and after multiple tries, we reached success!

I wanted my project to be located somewhere outside. In a perfect world, it could be anywhere among the trees, but the necessity of a working outlet was crucial. I opted for Mandeville Center, along the walls where I had access to an outlet. After the radio station was finally working, I took it to the spot and completed the installation!

In terms of strengths, I think my project does a good job of portraying the experience that people of color and women of color have in a predominantly white space, and the thoughts and choices that come with recognizing one’s place in the world. I think it speaks to many different situations that are commonly known while also maintaining a sense of specificity to the narrator. One area I feel I could have improved is perhaps tying in the mourning dove metaphor more clearly. I did try upon revising, but I was afraid it wouldn’t be as subtle as I wanted. Additionally, I thought that I should maybe include more of my own language, but I think the amount that I did include ties to how out of touch the narrator feels. I also could have played with the audio elements a bit more by adding more sounds in the background, but I partly liked the simplicity of the piece. Moving forward, I want to let my voice be heard in new spaces. I used to have a crippling fear of having my work read, let alone heard, by anyone. I’ve been thinking about having a radio show on campus for the past year or so, and I think this has really given me the push to be able to do it. I am eternally thankful for this opportunity, thank you Professor Carroll for allowing us to speak and be heard.