#sensoryethnography

[daisycoxccdn231-blog]

Copy of the slides for hand-in 

[daisycoxccdn231-blog]

NAVIGATING A DOORHANDLE

  The action of using a door handle varies a lot depending on the style of the knob you’re navigating. The ones in my house are an oval shape. When I lift my hand to interact with them I find myself preparing only three fingers for the task. This may be simply because I have large hands – who knows. With my hand at the ready, I take hold of the cold metal and turn to the left. This motion of turning to the left comes naturally to me because I am used to these particular handles. At first glance you wouldn’t be able to tell which way to twist. The oval shape of these ones helps to prevent the knob slipping in your grip.  There is a lot of rattling involved when using these old door handles, and added clattering if you happen to be wearing any jewelry. 

[daisycoxccdn231-blog]

PLUNGING COFFEE

  The kettle has boiled and I have put the appropriate amount of ground coffee into the bottom of the French press. From the moment the bag is open, the intoxicating smell of coffee fills the air. I pour the water into the glass cylinder and put the lid on. Brewing time varies depending on how patient I am feeling. Some days I wait and watch it and others I almost forget about it. Not often though – I love coffee. Once brewed, it’s time to plunge. Holding the handle with my left hand and the knob on the top with my right hand I begin to push down slowly. There is pressure to push against but I also have to resist the urge to push too fast. The smell developed as the coffee brewed. The slow sighing noise as the plunger scrapes its way down the inside to bottom of the cylinder is the final stretch of this process. And then it’s time to pour a cup. 

[robertwillim-blog]

Ernst Karel works with location recordings and analog electronics and composes electroacoustic music.

[robertwillim-blog]