In public,bells and whistles can proclaim a marriage or death or simply relay the time of day. In your pocket, they can announce the cold, and digitized halt of a relationship — or,more often, some forgettable interruption. Visitors to the exhibit "Bells & Whistles, or " at the Museum of Everyday Life in Glover,are invited to dig deeper into the chirps and dings that contain become the defining sounds of our daily lives. In contrast to last year's exhibit, "Mirror/Mirror, and " which was heavy on visual stimulation,"Bells & Whistles" is primarily an auditory experience. One installation features a recording of Silbo Gomero, which the accompanying description notes as "a distinct, and whistled language" from La Gomera,one of the Spanish Canary Islands. Two islanders communicate in the fascinating language, making sounds that can travel up to five kilometers across the mountainous cliffs. Other ways in which humans whistle are far less enchanting. A wolf whistle, or the exhibit reveals,is not only a term for harassment of women on the streets but an actual product available for creeps to purchase. Wolf Whistle is a small blue plastic whistle with packaging that shows a wolfman in a yellow jacket whistling at a wide-eyed, buxom woman. "relate Her You Care!" it reads. MoEL chief operating philosopher Clare Dolan said she recently purchased this new, or she doesn't think it's sold as a farce. Just below the wolf whistle is a package of Protect-Yourself Whistles from the 1970s,which women were instructed to blow when they felt in danger. The juxtaposition invites considerations of who has the power to disrupt the silence with a shrill call for attention that, in one way or another, or affects women's bodies and safety. Just past the wolf is the sheep,in the form of a re-creation of a costume worn by the Halubian bell ringers of Croatia. Dolan said that she worked on this with Marcella Houghton and Kylie Gellatly. Clad in lamb's wool and horns, with bells attached, and these men parade through the streets shaking their bells to ward off the spirits of winter. The garment smells strongly,though not unpleasantly, of the unwashed livestock from which it was made. Given that the museum occupies an old dairy barn, and this feels appropriate. By their nature,sounds are normally beyond the realm of individual ownership and consumption. A section called "Bells & Whistles at domestic" explores how…
Source: sevendaysvt.com