Oto-date is a project by the Japanese artist Akio Suzuki in which he invites the audience to stand still on specific spots in the urban space. These places are marked by a pictogram which shows a hybrid of human footprints and ears. The project seeks to get people listening to the sounds that surround them without the mediation of headphones. The Japanese term oto-date consists of the ideograms for “listen” and “point,” hence “listening point”, and is inspired by the Japanese tea ceremony “nodate”, which is held in open air. Since the audience is invited to listen to the sonic environment of the city, there are no soundtracks for this walk.
Weronika Trojanska
