Peter Vogel

Klangkasten

1988

Description: Peter Vogel shows what electronic devices usually conceal: resistors, capacitors, transistors, and wires are openly exposed. Nothing is decorative; every component serves a function. Klangkasten makes visible those technical structures that shape our everyday lives yet normally remain hidden. »Klangkasten« is an instrument of a special kind. Equipped with photo cells, the object responds to light and shadow. When a sensor area is shaded, the electronics built into the object process this stimulus and generate sound. The sound is produced entirely within the internal circuitry. There are no pre-recorded sounds, no digital sound generators, and no external control. How the object sounds depends on how one approaches it: the duration, frequency, and rhythm of the shadowing influence the progression of the sounds. The rules governing the reactions are precisely defined, yet the audible result remains open. Small changes in the behavior of visitors can lead to significant differences in sound. The artistic idea does not aim at a finished musical composition, but at a process. The work comes into being only through interaction. Viewers become active participants, co-creators of the sonic event. What is to be done? Approach the object, move in front of it, play with your shadow. Try short and long periods of shading, slow movements or quick gestures—and listen to how the object responds.