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Rhubarb, rhubarb

The shape of a sound

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W

hat is the shape of a sound? Can you pronounce a shape? For this series of glass objects, Barnas has spoken words while blowing the glass.

Barnas chose words that are used to mimic group speech in sound recording. In American radio, film, and television, walla is a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background. Walla is used as rhubarb in the UK, rhabarber in Germany, rabarber in the Netherlands and gaya in Japan, perhaps in part reflecting the varying textures of crowd noise in the different countries. Similar phrases are carrots and peas, watermelon cantaloupe and natter natter to which the response is often grommish grommish.

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