Transmediale. 01 International media art festival
To challenge the museum visitors to reconsider their affiliation with the machines that surround us, a media orchestra installation was specially created for the Museum fÄr Kommunikation. Pointing out that the possibilities for using these domestic machines are endless, that you can even make simple machines like a radio, television and a printer create and communicate – make them a composer or musician. To emphasise this point they trade places, making one the composer/musician and vice versa.
Even their ‘languages’ were interchanged, using video as audio or the other way around. This museum has three floors; each symmetrical with a left and right side that are clearly separated: effectively a ïstereoÍ space from the position of a person standing in the hall and facing the entrance. The installation was tailored to the space: 18 television sets were placed on the top floor, 9 on each side. Below 14 radios were set up, 7 on each side, on the ground floor 16 printers, 8 on each side.
Each floor was thus given a different function, making it a sound layer by using different machines. The stereo nature of the space was highlighted, and by clearly separating the machines on each side of the room earitainment in stereo was created. In this way the characteristics of this building and the classical shape were integrated into the piece.
