Reality Makes Them Dream:

An Unconventional Audio Experience

The following audio experiences were designed by students in Talking Pictures, a winter 2023 course at Stanford that considered all the noisy potential buried in the quiet spaces of museum galleries. What do pictures sound like? What would they say if they could talk? What would we say back? Follow the QR codes posted in the Cantor’s galleries to play through the files here, which give voice to the pictures in the exhibition Reality Makes Them Dream: American Photography 1929-1941, curated by Josie R. Johnson. The audio is best experienced when wearing two headphones.

Three people walking on a street strewn with confetti
The shadow of a man sinks into the concrete steps of the Mulholland Dam, swiftly disappearing as dawn falls to dusk, as did the lives of 450 residents only two years prior. The photograph captures the solemnity of the moment, serving a grim reminder.

The shadow of a man sinks into the concrete steps of the Mulholland Dam, swiftly disappearing as dawn falls to dusk, as did the lives of 450 residents only two years prior. The photograph captures the solemnity of the moment, serving as a grim reminder of the catastrophic St. Francis Dam disaster. Today, the image of the grand Mulholland remains forever marred. 

Figure out what your favorite features are and make sure you highlight them; You can pinch your cheeks to get a little color in your face; Do what makes you feel comfortable and excited..
On the corner of East First Street, a small bistro where a screaming mechanical phonograph drowns out all conversation. To get five minutes of silence, you have to put in five cents.

“On the corner of East First Street, a small bistro where a screaming mechanical phonograph drowns out all conversation. To get five minutes of silence, you have to put in five cents.” Albert Camus’ New York Diary, 1946