Developed for Siemens Arts Programme series ‘Der Blick des Komponisten’ (’The View of the Composer’) in collaboration with Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival , “Architone” was an attempt to create a holophonic sound image of the Kunsthalle in Kiel.
A composition was produced for the building that reproduced the full physical magnitude of the latter’s structure, and simultaneously probed the very material, shape, and function of the institution as a soundsource, as an instrument and as a physical filter as well. For this we created sound sources that have been distributed around and in the entire Museum. These sources, including klaxons and specially constructed resonators, produced such a powerful sound that the enormous dimensions of the building became acoustically “tangible” for the audience – they could hear through layers of walls and ceilings, they could feel the sound. The audience was bisically inside the sound. The idea was to direct the audience to hear sounds they would normally not pay attention to or at least not always recognize as music. Additionally, we used architectural features as instruments, such as by transforming windows and glass walls into loudspeaker walls, and in this way directly played the substance of the building while other small sound sources simultaneously moved within the space as dynamic mobile soundsystem. The public was fixed in a location and could experience a dynamic live produced and presented holophonic image of the building. a building that is normally just perceived as a functional ‘white cube’ for presenting art suddenly became a living sound organism.
A composition was produced for the building that reproduced the full physical magnitude of the latter’s structure, and simultaneously probed the very material, shape, and function of the institution as a soundsource, as an instrument and as a physical filter as well. For this we created sound sources that have been distributed around and in the entire Museum. These sources, including klaxons and specially constructed resonators, produced such a powerful sound that the enormous dimensions of the building became acoustically “tangible” for the audience – they could hear through layers of walls and ceilings, they could feel the sound. The audience was bisically inside the sound. The idea was to direct the audience to hear sounds they would normally not pay attention to or at least not always recognize as music. Additionally, we used architectural features as instruments, such as by transforming windows and glass walls into loudspeaker walls, and in this way directly played the substance of the building while other small sound sources simultaneously moved within the space as dynamic mobile soundsystem. The public was fixed in a location and could experience a dynamic live produced and presented holophonic image of the building. a building that is normally just perceived as a functional ‘white cube’ for presenting art suddenly became a living sound organism.
Geert-Jan Hobijn (NL), Carsten Stabenow (D)
in collaboration with
BMB.con Justin Bennett (GB), Wikke ‘t Hooft (NL), Roelf Toxopeus (NL)
programming and technical support: Jens Alexander Ewald (D)
initiated and produced by:
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Siemens Arts Programme in cooperation with Kunsthalle, Kiel
concert within the project series ‘anbruch 06′ (NDR das neue werk)
Kieler Nachrichten 20.08.2006