»audio art is primarily art in space« (1)

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»ephemeral systems« is a multi-channel sound installation with kinetic objects.

The topic of the installation is it to narrate conditions of order and chaos in an acoustic way and is as well a reflection about remembrance and commemoration. Metaphorical this is represented by the object of the paper clip. As I started to be fascinated by the different meanings of this everyday life article, a special emphasis lies on the role of the paper clip in Norway given that it was used during the Nazi-occupation as a symbol for the resistance movement.

The paper clip functions beyond that as an "instrument" that is moved by small engines and produces clicking noises in contact with glass plates. Visually these objects are arranged by hanging from the ceiling whereby also cables and electrotechnical components are an important sculptural component of the installation. The sound objects are forming a pattern that allows the audience to move freely and discover different aspects of the installation.

Over a 4-channel speaker-system audio material of documentary and fictitious origin is played, which defines the room atmosphere together with the electromechanical sound objects. The audio material consists of archival recordings (German), an interview with a witness of the Norwegian resistance movement (English) and an abstract collage of the word ‘paper clip’ (English, German, Norwegian, Italian, French, Spanish) and related noises. These sounds are placed in time and space by several random-generators (Max/MSP) from the PC.

A further principle was to create a model, that functions like real systems by certain rules and structures, however in contrast to the reality these structures are changing fast and are determined by random parameters. Here I understand the usage of the coincidence as an ephemeral element, because it generates another version of the sound installation again and again. To the volatile nature of the sound here the ephemeral character of the coincidence is added, which excludes an accurate repetition of the sounds. Thus the installation becomes an ephemeral experience on itself.

The result is a 4-channel sound installation, that stylistically follows developments from experimental radio play to media art and that is moving freely between the traditional genres of Art and Media, because I think that nowadays mixing forms and linking media, is becoming an everyday artistic practise.

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(1) translation by the author; see: Geerken, Hartmut: Das Hörspiel als interaktive Radiokunst, Essen 1992

»video & audio«

You can find a documentation video of the installation on:
http://www.archive.org/details/ephemeralsystems

You can listen to the audio on:
http://soundslikemusic.podomatic.com/entry/2006-11-06T19_51_54-08_00

or download the podcast

»fotos«

»material & software«

dimensions:
variable (here 9x4x3 Meter)

material:
ca. 50 miniature motors, ca. 50 paper clips, ca. 400m cable, string, several glass plates, various electronic and technical material,
PC with multi channel sound card, 4 channel speaker-system

software:
programming in Bascom AVR & Max/MSP
sounddesign & edit in Samplitude Professional

I'd like to thank Pollin Electronic for its sponsoring!

»theory«

Download the written paper Diplomarbeit (theory and documentation in German! 45 pages)

bibliography:
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Gebrauchsgegenstände, Basel 1994.
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Archivieren in der Kunst, München 1997.
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Objekten, Braunschweig 2000.
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Würzburg 1995.

»contact & comments«

write an email to:
sobjekt at gmail dot com