Field Experiment to give voice to those driven crazy by Atlanta traffic

Field Experiment winners Severn Eaton (left) and Mel Chin will create "“Jam-D-Jam,” described as a "radio based interactive entertainment intervention" for Atlantans stuck in traffic.

Credit: hpousner

Credit: hpousner

Field Experiment winners Severn Eaton (left) and Mel Chin will create "“Jam-D-Jam,” described as a "radio based interactive entertainment intervention" for Atlantans stuck in traffic.

If you're stuck in turtle-speed metro traffic on a regular basis, you're in good company.

Soon you will be able to share your feelings with fellow stalled commuters.

Atlanta's Goat Farm Arts Center and northeast Georgia's the Hambidge Center have announced the gridlock-inspired winning entry for "Field Experiment," an art undertaking with a $20,000 commission.

"Jam-D-Jam" is an interactive project by North Carolina artists Mel Chin and Severn Eaton that will invite commuters to call in from their vehicles, and their unscripted comments will be transformed via musical sampling and then looped back to those still in traffic via their radios.

The project will go live this fall. (Stay tuned for more specifics.)

In the announcement, Chin and Eaton said they are "excited to have the opportunity to create music with the entire city of Atlanta... This will be an interactive experiment that pushes the creativity of producers, performers and broadcast radio. We look forward to transforming the state of mind we find ourselves in all too often."

In addition to the $20,000 prize, the Jam-D-Jam "EMCs," as they call themselves, will be awarded a two-week Hambidge residency and administration and production support.

“Field Experiment” received 130 entries from five countries. The original call-out was for "extraordinary projects that are interactive, community-driven, collaborative, cross-disciplinary and accessible to the public."

Watch Chin and Eaton present their project in this video, or check out this podcast interview.