CHAPTER 8
HOME: THE WORKBENCH
In chapter eight I return to my parent’s home in Westerville, Ohio, to create a sound and video project called The Workbench (2024). Here, I explore the power of inherited objects from my father, Paul. This archive is not public, but personal: a lifetime’s accumulation of things my father repaired and cared for. I became curious about the objects’ sonic traces, and whether they had an agency that we might activate and listen to. This final chapter brings me full circle; I return to where I began my life, to relisten to the sounds I was born into and grew up with. And yet, as with all my projects, this was not a purely nostalgic or sentimental endeavor. Instead, I learned that attentive listening to the past—of seemingly trivial details from my father recounting everyday moments—might reveal something to us right now: a way to feel and think deeply about ourselves and others, and to work toward making our relationships and the places where we live more meaningful.
A still from The Workbench video.
Video
LYRICS
Paul Harnetty: Hi Brian, this is your dad. I’m just returning your call, and letting you know we just went out for a long walk. And uh, we finally got back, before the rain comes. So, thanks for calling, and we’re fine and I hope you’re fine, too. Bye, bye.
Okay, hey! Uh, Brian, this is your dad. I just wanted to let you know that I got that surveying equipment, uh, repaired. And it’s working fine. Give me a call if you can; uh, we’ll see what else we can get into.
Hi Brian, this is your dad. Give me a call when you can. It has to do with what we talked about earlier. Maybe going down to JC tomorrow. I just canceled out on that right at the present time, but that’s, that’s the main concern, I guess. And we’ll have to maybe schedule another day sometime.
Hi Brian, this is your dad. I just wanted to let you know that I got the clock working and everything, so I don’t need any more information about it. It chimes when it should, and uh, cleaned up nice. So, it’s hanging on a wall. Thanks for looking up all that trouble the other day. Other than that, have a good day, Brian. Talk to you later.
Hi Brian, this is your dad. Give me a call when you can. Uh, the usual number. Bye-bye.
An excerpt from The Workbench. (Click image for more detail.)