Viewers can expect to see color-coded branches gathered from the banks of the Neversink, sketchbook pages and interview transcripts, and large-format prints of photographs made during the project.

The public audio archive Neversink.info will be available for visitors to explore. Additional relevant works from the artists’ practice will also be on view, such as Irons’ watershed drawings and Phiffer’s inquiry-based net projects.

The exhibition at the Old Stone House documents Neversink Transmissions, a site-specific work located at Denning Town Hall along the east branch of the Neversink River. The art project combines a sculpture built of driftwood and a media element the artists call “situated net art” that allows visitors to access an archive of community-generated knowledge about the river.

“Neversink Transmissions” was sponsored by the Wildcat Fellowship Program in partnership with the Neversink-Rondout Stream Management Program.

The Old Stone House is at 282 Hasbrouck, NY.  The reception for “Neversink Transmissions: Documentation + Ephemera” features a gala wine and cheese reception and is free to the public.

Bob Garrett, Peter Martin, Mark Sherman at opening for exhibit of work by 2010 Wildcat Fellow Andrea Jenkins with guest artist Emily Brown.

The residency of 2011 Wildcat Fellows Ellie Irons and Dan Phiffer ended on July 24th. Hurricane Irene struck Claryville soon after. The Denning, Frost Valley, and Peekamoose roads were flooded, as were homes and businesses in the valley. Town Hall was an island in the boiling stream. Power and phone service were interrupted.  When the flood waters receded, the Neversink Transmissions tower created by Irons and  Phiffer was still standing.

Photograph by Peter Martin

The Denning Road has been largely restored, but the Frost Valley and Peekamoose roads have not. Many home-owners are still struggling to recover.

On the technology front, we’re beginning some research into solar options for keeping our radio broadcast of Neversink Transmissions running. We’re also still working on the analog phone line to Asterisk system, as Dan described in his last post. More on that soon, I hope! Below, Patrizia and Ellie entering the grounds of Trillium Arboretum.

What I’ve been able to get working so far is pretty close to what we’d originally proposed; a local wireless network that provides access to the neversink.info archive and a short-range radio broadcast of our audio material (more on that soon!).

The element that’s still missing, but important to the project, is a telephone interface for collecting new material and listening to what we have so far. While the web interface is definitely the best way to hear the interviews with accompanying photos, access to fast enough internet connections here in the Catskills is far from common. But telephones, of the land line variety, are ubiquitous here. Offering the opportunity to call in to the project over a local land line would allow much wider participation, and would allow us to continue growing our archive while Ellie and I are back in New York City.

The basis for this system is a popular Open Source program called Asterisk. It’s the Swiss army knife of phone systems, it can do almost anything related to voice telephony. In recent years its most popular mode of operation is Voice Over IP (VoIP). VoIP is kind of like Skype, it’s inexpensive for long distance calls but requires fast internet access.

Asterisk also allows you to plug into an analog phone jack using a special expansion card for a PC. The advantage of this analog approach is that people nearby can call into your local number for free. Back in the mid-90s, before VoIP and widespread broadband adoption, this was the best option available for a small business wanting to run a customer support line. Unfortunately as internet-based telephony has exploded in popularity, its analog counterpart has received less attention. As a result, building the phone system was a bit more challenging than I’d expected.

Analog telephone jack installed in the server.

I did manage to get the expansion card working on the Linux server I’d brought up, but frustratingly it would stop working unexpectedly. After looking through the troubleshooting documentation, I’ve diagnosed the problem as being related to IRQ interrupts, an archaic low-level component of computer hardware. Specifically, the card needs a dedicated IRQ number, and it was sharing one with the Ethernet networking card. One solution for this type of IRQ conflict is to simply move the card to a different slot on the motherboard. And, alas, my server only has a single slot.

So I’m going to try again with a different computer once I get back to Brooklyn. I’m still hopeful that with a little more tinkering I’ll be able to sort out the technology needed for the community phone line. I’ll update the blog with my progress!

The Asterisk expansion card.

A new possibility for the server for the telephony portion of the project. It's an older machine with several slots, enough to provide for a dedicated IRQ number.

Wildcat curator Patrizia Eakins introducing the program for the afternoon.

Supervisor Bill Bruning addressing the group.

Town Historian Carol Smythe describing her connections to the east and west branches of the river.

During our presentation, Dan and I shared our backgrounds as artists, and discussed the process of building the sculpture and gathering interview material. We also covered the range of technology that makes the project possible (Dan is working on a series of posts on this topic that should be published in the next day or so). Throughout the afternoon we were broadcasting a local wireless network that allowed visitors to log on to neversink.info. We also managed to get our hyper-local radio running (thanks ExiTrip!). Visitors were able to tune their car radios to 91.5 and receive Neversink Transmissions within a quarter mile or so of the sculpture site. This addition was exciting for all of us! Overall, the afternoon was a huge success, and we are so grateful for the assistance of the Wildcat Fellowship Program, Karen Rauter and the Stream Management Program, and of course all generous community members who were willing to share time and stories with us. We look forward to seeing the project develop over the next few months.

Dan describing his computer science background, and how it led him to art making.

Yes, it supports weight!

Meredith Maglio of the Stream Program presents the plans for the native buffer planting that will serve as a demonstration plot for the Catskill Streams Buffer Iniative.

A detail of our ExiTrip radio set up, broadcasting Neversink Transmissions!

A few highlights included three ten-year-old American chestnuts not yet affected by the chestnut blight (the most I’ve seen in one place, I believe!) and some gorgeous native orchids that she recently discovered growing in a former cattle pasture behind her home. We also got some great audio from Carolyn about why encouraging native planting is such an important ecological principle, whether it’s across large areas or just in a single gardener’s backyard.

Walking through a converted pasture.

Carolyn inspects one of her American chestnuts for blossoms.

Bees on a lovely native plant of which I forget the name! Anyone remember?

Ground cover in the hemlock forest.

Carolyn points out a black willow oak, one of the alternative species she's trying to bring in to replace the hemlocks as they die off.

A small white fringed orchid in the meadow behind the house.

The platform and router, best friends forever

Today I had a productive coding day after our big adventure around town yesterday. I was able to compile some of our sound recordings and photos into the first draft of the online component of the project. If you go to neversink.info you can see the current revision!

At this point it’s very simple, a set of three interview recordings each coupled with illustrative photos. Ellie and I are intending to keep the interface pared down since many of our users will be accessing the content from a mobile device. But I do anticipate making a few more improvements in the coming days.

We still have a lot of recordings to edit down and sync up with photos and, of course, more interviews to record!

Here is a very rough edit of some audio we recorded during the day.

Right to left: Michal Heron, Bob Richards and Patricia Eakins at the pancake breakfast.

Next we were off to meet Joe Weise at his place down the river. We chatted in his workshop for 45 minutes or so, and then he took us across the road to the river, where he showed us Junction Pool, the spot where the east and west branches converge. We also stopped at the river across from the church, where we saw a small dam built in the 1850s, and the beginnings of the raceway that fed the tannery. We also had the opportunity to gather some excellent branches for the tower!

Joe has been writing down reminiscences from the time he and his wife Barbara ran the general store in Claryville, 1975-81. He read some aloud for us.

Joe reading from his reminiscences.

An old map of Claryville, showing the various residences.

Joe and Barbara have cultivated their land in many ways over the years. Here you see the various signs they used to hang out by the road to advertise their wares.

Story telling at the confluence.

Joe Weise at the confluence.

In front of the garden.

The dam behind the church.

After that visit, we spent a lovely hour at the Wellington residence. We went for a swim, ate some watermelon, and saw Duke’s trout pond. Pat and Duke told us about the trout pool and the water system that brings spring water to the pool and the house. We also heard about the massive rock that slid down onto Frost Valley road back in the early 90s. It became the source for much of Duke’s rock work.

The Wellington's trout pool. The right edge is is built on the repaired rock work of the old grist mill that used to sit at this site.

The rock that provided material for Duke's rock walls and pools.

Our final visit of the day was on the west branch of the Neversink. We rode our bikes up to Leroy’s pool, where we met Hovey and Margaret Brock. They showed us their beautiful swimming hole and told us about the changes they’ve seen there over the years. Then they took us up to meet Gioia and Mitchell, Hovey’s parents. Their family has lived on this part of the Neversink for generations. In fact, it is they who are responsible for the lack of power lines going through this part of the river! Gioia’s mother decided that the power lines should run on land, up in the forest, rather than disrupting the her scenic river. To this day, the west branch of the Neversink is free of power lines, and the power company has to send its men hiking in the forest to do maintenance!

Looking down on Leroy's pool.

Above the waterfall, Leroy's pool.

Hovey Brock, after a dip in the river.

Gioia Brock, at her home above the river.

The sitting room at the Brock's, looking out over their garden.