Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This study’s primary object is the collective act of listening. More specifically, we are interested in the socio-political, ecological and philosophical implications of this action. We seek to understand how our relationship with the world and our heritage is conditioned by the act of hearing, individually or collectively. Herein, the meaning of world is understood as the personal reality of each one and that which is collectively created. Simultaneously it is the individual relationship with this reality and the way in which it will be perceived. Heritage, in this study, is understood as what is valued by the individual and not only what is institutionally considered as culturally relevant. Therefore, we intend to explore the act of listening, differentiating it from the auditory perception, or hearing. This distinction, the socio-political, ecological and philosophical implications of the act of listening, namely the act as a collective one, in a collective quotidian, is a focal point of this investigation. An integral and essential part of this study, is its aesthetical creation, divided in three parts, which reflects the concepts and ideas explored during the research. The purpose of this study is the need to understand and explore the concept of listening and its difference from hearing, in addition to its intrinsic connection to everyday life, not only individual, but collective and in community, but also to its urban heritage. It is also about questioning the relationship we have with the world and how it is conditioned by listening.