georg klein : : transition

The interactive sound installation transition is situated at the Philharmonie in Berlin, in Richard Serra’s sculpture berlin junction in front of the entrance of the concert hall. The basic sound is derived from the shape of the sculpture and its inherent acoustical properties, using the extraordinary echo characteristics inside the structure.
Transition functions in an interactive manner: the sound in the sculpture is continously produced by four speakers in the ground covered by iron bars between the two metal plates. But only when a visitor walks through the sculpture does the sound of six sine tones change and two human voices can appear and disappear (by the german actors Angela Winkler and Otto Sander). The sensors inside, connected via midi with a computer in the philharmonie concert hall, register the movements of the visitors and transform the sound in real-time. A process of never ending transformation.

In this permanent flow the words of a poem of bertolt brecht appear, reflecting a moment of transition. The word here draws attention to the special history of this place: the nazi-euthanasia, which was organized in a house here at this site. Thus visitors to transition listen to bodiless voices from the earth, transforming sounds and thoughts.
The installation is a site-specific work, which has different historical and contemporary aspects . Richard Serras sculpture from 1987 tells with its two threatening parts something about the situation of Berlin during the wall. transition works with this between and emphasizes the possibilities of changement by movement. If nobody walks through the sculpture, nothing will change the sounds - and the life.