Radio Project Radio Art Is Interesting Because

Radio Project

Radio art is interesting because it is an aural representation of a world that is very much focused on visual input. In listening to radio art, the audience potentially becomes aware of a reality that is beyond the visible. In other words, things that a person might not notice in the general, visually driven world, might become more apparent when listening to radio art. This is what I found when recording my interactions with taxi drivers in Iran. I recorded not only conversations during the journeys I took by taxi, but also other sound effect in these taxis, such as the music the drivers might have been listening to during my journeys with them.

One interesting thing that I noticed related to culture. The taxi drivers had a culture of their own, even while being part of the Iranian culture, they also had a particular cultural awareness that related to their profession. They spoke the same language as the rest of the Iranian nation, and also had the same historical background. However, there was a marked distinction between their own culture and the way they saw themselves as a culture of their own. This became apparent in the way they spoke about themselves and their profession.

Interestingly, this can also relate to the many cultures the taxi drivers come into contact with. As a result of their profession, it is likely that they are more culturally aware than others in the country. Hence, they are aware not only of themselves as a type of subculture, but also of cultures other than their own. This is a trait they have some pride in; the ability to relate to whomever they help on their way to their various destinations.

All this relates to cultural diversity. Taxi drivers represent cultural diversity because of their unique sense of culture among themselves, but also because they are able to relate to a diversity of other human beings, regardless of culture. These are things one might become aware of when listening to a recording of a conversation with a taxi driver. The words, language, and expressions these drivers use make one aware of the diversity that is possible in a single country.

As such, I could also apply this to myself and my own culture. We all have different lives and different professions, as well as different cultural, historical, and family backgrounds. This makes us very diverse in relation to each other. This is not something we are always acutely aware of, especially within the culture we grew up in and spent most of our lives in. The danger here is that we might lose the sense of culture, and even ourselves, in this sense of basic lack of culture. Radio art that involves conversations with taxi drivers can help to make an individual aware of this once again.

Another reason why I chose this particular setting for my project is also the relation between the road a taxi travels on and our path in life. We are all involved in a journey through life, during which we meet many and interesting individuals. My conversations with the taxi drivers made me aware of the importance of appreciating the individual differences I saw in the taxi drivers themselves, but also of the cultural similarities I could detect in the profession as a collective group.

This awareness also brought me a new awareness and appreciation not only of the cultures that I encounter on my journey through life, but also of my own culture. I became aware that each culture is unique and has its own beauty, which should be celebrated and honored, rather than treated with suspicion and negativity.