In “Nature, Sound Art and The Sacred”, David Dunn explains the relativity to which sounds are perceived. Dunn argues that each species must interpret the sounds of their environment specific to their surroundings and learned society. An example Dunn provides to reflect the concept of sound being relevant to the viewer is the relativity of an airplane to the sky it travels through as well as the relative distance from the airplane to the viewer observing it. These factors contribute to how the viewer perceives the sound of the airplane, and it leads Denn to believe that it proves a human would perceive the sound of the airplane differently than a frog would perceive the sound of the airplane.
As seen from early philosophers, Dunn takes note that music is the way humans are able to perceive and represent the metaphors of sound. While Dunn hopes that this way of relating sounds through music can be positive, he states that he is disappointed that music is most commonly seen as entertainment. Dunn disapproves of music solely as entertainment because he defines entertainment as something that is “easy to engage but lacking long term interest.” Instead, he suggests that music should be an artistic medium to give insight to deeper societal norms and learned behaviors. In his personal work, Dunn has concluded that even in the wilderness, humans have tainted the natural environment in many ways. Dunn concludes the article by stating that sound is no longer pure from human intervention, and humans' way of communicating through language is not the only form of highly intelligent communication.
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