Synthesis

»Synthesis« is a human–machine interaction by Peter Weibel that was performed from 1967 onwards in several public spaces. The video shows the artist communicating with a tape recorder at a crossroads in Vienna. The artist says »on« and presses the power button of the tape recorder. On the tape recorder there is an endless loop with the previously recorded word »off«. So, the tape recorder says »off«. The artist presses the off button, then says »on« and switches the tape recorder back on. The action continues until the performer operating the tape recorder is exhausted, or until the technical apparatus fails. Human and machine are coupled in a circular feedback loop. The work can be understood as a result of Weibel’s early studies of Claude E. Shannon’s (1916–2001) information theory and Norbert Wiener’s (1918–1964) cybernetics.