posted by Al Lees

Cultural transformations in small communities are of interest to me, particularly where a critical mass of new arrivers, or “others’ occupy a space previously dominated by a relatively homogeneous society. My frame of reference is the South Coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Dartmouth and Westport, Mass. and Little Compton, Rhode Island), where generations of families have lived, worked, and died within the same locale. Their history is the story of the area, as familiar and as personal as a family heirloom. Where one reads about the history of the Pilgrims, for example, many families are descendents of them (of which I am one) and internalize it, not as a sanitized historical narrative, but as a familial legacy whose struggles and perseverance crafted the place that others now occupy. Change is inevitable, and healthy, as long as it serves to enhance, and not invalidate the past. Sadly, invalidation and imposition of new cultural ethos is more the norm than the exception of many places where “others” wish to congregate.

For this particular project, I have chosen to create a short audio experience that places the listener in a barnyard. More specifically, my barnyard is located on the Main Road, in the quirky central business district of Westport, Massachusetts. Why a barnyard? Food, of course, and the actual and emotional disconnect that many have with it. Society in the past 20 or so years has created an entirely new vocabulary to describe food. We no longer sit together and eat, we consume, our food measured by caloric intake, protein equivalents, and points in a Weight Watcher’s recipe book. An entire food-entertainment industry has been created, inviting us to watch someone else create dishes that we will not taste, never mind cook ourselves. We are either watching the show before we go out to dinner, or while we are munching on the Chinese take away. In short, food has become a visual sport for many or most, not something to be truly appreciated except at “special occasion”, where it is the Trojan Horse leading to another experience.

My short audio is real. It follows me on a daily routine of watering and feeding 12 Dexter cattle, a breed originally from County Kerry, Ireland that has not been genetically modified in more than 700 years. They produce milk, beef, and lots of manure. They also produce something far more valuable; a connection to the land and one important source of sustenance that is rapidly diminishing from the visual, experiential, emotional, and I would posit, cultural landscape. It’s a shame really… milk does not come from the supermarket.

Finally, my plan is to augment this audio and text message with some smells and tastes of the farm (minus the manure of course…!)