Commissioned by the editors of Disc Journal, Office Party was invited to develop a pair of events to celebrate the launch of the publication’s second issue centered around the theme of intimacy. The two events, one hosted in New York City and the other in Los Angeles, explore opposing models of intimacy unique to two common party environments: the dance and the dinner party. The respectively loud and quiet spaces of each gathering calibrate the terms of interpersonal engagement—how close do you need to be to speak with someone, what kind of body language is appropriate, what can other people see you do, and what can slide unnoticed, masked by the distractions of the party.

The quiet launch event, hosted at the Materials & Applications Storefront in Los Angeles, converts the noise of the gathering’s Sunset Boulevard venue into the polite silence of a dinner party through the installation of a horizontal, 4-by-8 ft acoustically-engineered table. Sound-absorbing panels on the surface of the dinner table and the surrounding walls deadden ambient noise, bringing the conversation of guests, the sounds of eating, and percussion of utensils to the fore. The remaining noises are recorded by conspicuously-placed microphones sitting as centerpieces on the table, making diners aware how their voices and actions might be transmitted across the space of the party.

The remnants of the launch party will be left in place for display in the M&A Storefront, leaving traces of the evening’s activities. Recorded sounds of the event will be made available for remote listening, reactivating the guests’ conversations and discussions of the publication.