Eavesdrop: first it referred to the water that fell from the eaves of a house. Eventually, eavesdropper described someone who stood within the eavesdrop of a house to overhear a conversation inside. The act of listening to, recording or intercepting private communications, eavesdropping can apply to verbal conversations, such as phone calls, people talking face-to-face, or it can refer to data communications.
With the advent of switchboards, party lines, and multi-phone households, privacy was not expected in telephone communication. They were frequently used as a source of entertainment and gossip, as well as a means of quickly alerting entire neighborhoods of emergencies, becoming a cultural fixture of rural areas for many decades. The telephone, as a telecommunications device, permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. As wireless technology and cellular service evolved, the art of eavesdropping on telephones became a thing of the past, and a lost “art form”.
Axis Gallery is proud to present Eavesdropping, a sound installation presented by Kenna Doeringer. Once again she is incorporating her past experiences as a sound engineer and editor in an audio installation. The artist invites you to be the eavesdropper, listening in on conversations and stories as you wander through the gallery.