The Signal Archive is an expanding collection — recordings of as many different devices as possible. Each device is carefully recorded, performing as many similar features as available. ARL believes that these immaterial essences will someday come to define our techno culture for those who may stumble upon it in the future or may be utilized as a historical reference.
The archive frames the development and history of Morse Code as a point of reference. A point in time when our modes of communication were at the early stages of mediation. The electrical telegraph, the mediator of that time, was a device to communicate the spoken word through a codified system of dots and dashes. The electrical telegraph and its intrinsic physical properties and technology, coupled with this codified writing system, quickly became a sound object as it became evident that listening to the device was just as effective as reading the dots and dashes. As a point of reference, this compelled the research and collection of the intrinsic sonic qualities of our contemporary communication devices: the cell phone. Today’s devices communicate in verbatim. They surpass any codified means and transmit the word, image, video, and sound directly through its sensorial facets, microphone, keypad, and camera to the receiving end, which may not be like the source.
Concerning scientific investigation, all recordings were conducted systematically, treating every device the same. Owners were requested to follow the same steps and perform the same tasks: text, email, load a website, get current geo-location, and watch a YouTube video. This systematic approach revealed the different timbres between each device.
