Logan Squared: Ode to Philly - Emeka Ogboh feat. Ursula Rucker by ⭕️ Remote Places

As a monument to Philadelphians’ voices and visions, Emeka Ogboh’s Logan Squared: Ode to Philly featured a collaboration with beloved Philadelphia poet Ursula Rucker, members of the Chestnut Street Singers, and hundreds of Philadelphians whose ideas were documented during Monument Lab’s discovery phase. Throughout his work, Ogboh creates soundscapes to honor and understand cities. For Monument Lab, Ogboh conceived of a collaboration to channel public participation and reflection.

Responding to the Monument Lab open dataset, Rucker composed an epic poem serving as the backbone of this composition. Visitors accessed the sound monument at listening stations around the square where they could plug in their headphones, or attended a special weekly iteration on the Skyline Terrace of the Parkway Central Library. In the rooftop version, attendees were invited to experience a multichannel sound installation, including the sounds of Rucker’s poem and a special choral arrangement of Louis Gesensway’s Four Squares of Philadelphia: “Logan Square at Dusk,” as well a singular view of the city from above.

(produced and engineered by Justin Geller)