In a world increasingly saturated with visual stimuli, artist Scott Kildall invites us to listen—not to voices or instruments in the traditional sense, but to the natural world—translated through circuits, sensors, and soundscapes. A self-described new media artist, Kildall works at the intersection of art, technology, and biology. His recent work focuses on transforming hidden environmental data like water quality, air pollution, and plant health into immersive soundscapes.
Scott’s latest endeavor at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) delves even deeper—literally—into the ground.
“I’m very curious about what lies outside of human perception,” Kildall explains. “We’re trapped by our own senses. There’s all sorts of data—infrared reflectance, soil quality, air—that we [humans] just can’t access. My work takes those invisible elements and translates them into sound performances we can collectively experience.”
This approach is rooted in a pivotal moment during a 2017 residency in Santa Fe focused on water rights. “I was trying to make visualizations with pH data, and nothing was clicking. Then someone offhandedly suggested sound. I built this dead-simple circuit where two wires in water would generate a tone based on conductivity.” More minerals produced a lower tone, clean water a higher tone. And suddenly polluted water sounded different than clean water.
From that spark, a new trajectory emerged. Kildall began focusing exclusively on transforming environmental data into auditory art. Now, he’s turning his attention to the soil.
At PMRCAA, he’s developing a prototype performance using custom-built soil sensors. “Each sensor measures things like moisture or nutrients and triggers a different sound—like a baseline, a trumpet, or drums. With multiple people inserting sensors into the ground at different spots, we essentially create an improvisational symphony using the Earth itself as an instrument,” he says. “I’ve never done anything with soil sensors before. I’ve never done a performance like this. It’s new and that’s what’s so exciting.”
For Kildall, the work is as much about learning as it is about creating. He’s embracing the two-week residency not just to produce but to listen—to the land, to local ecologies, to other residents. “I don’t know that much about farming or soil, and I should. It’s how we get our food. That curiosity is driving this project,” he says.
In alignment with PMRCAA’s 2025 theme of care and stewardship, Kildall’s work amplifies awareness of our connection to—and dependence on—the land. “Understanding the rhizomatic layer of plants, how microbes and nutrients interact—just knowing a little about that changes how we care for the Earth,” he says. “I hope this work sparks those conversations.”
Kildall’s performance will be featured at an interactive music performance on July 31st from 4-5 p.m. and at the Open Studio event on June 30, 4–6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public, but space is limited, so registration is required.
Other featured artists at the Open Studio include Jazmyn Crosby, Barbara Holmes, and Ketzia Schoneberg. Join them in exploring the intersection of art, ecology, and community—and come ready to listen.
