Luke Blackstone Call of the Siren bricks, powder coated steel tubing, compressed air, mechanical linkages, aluminum 7ft. X 8 ft. X 14 ft. 2007
Call of the Siren refers to the turn of the century New York firehouse style architecture (the style of the new Fire Station # 10).The structure forms an enlarged and simplified siren shape. In the early 1900’s, hand cranked sirens were installed on fire fighting vehicles, followed by electromechanical versions. Although sirens are no longer sounded at urban fire halls (except in extreme emergencies), fire trucks and engines still use this universally recognizable sound to alert the public. The siren was, and continues to be an important component of firefighting. This project is interactive with the public via a simple hand crank that can be operated by the viewer. The crank wheel rotates a perforated disc and compressed air (supplied by the air compressor in the fire hall) to flow through the perforations, generating a soft and subtle siren sound audible only to those nearby. The flow of air through perforations is the basic operating principle of all mechanical sirens. In this way, the viewer is invited to generate the quintessential call to the Brotherhood, Sisterhood, and surrounding neighbourhood. back