Can Pictures Speak? An Intermedial Experience at the Intersection of Art, Music and Technology

Sprung in die Zeit [Leap Into Time] is an intermedial experience at the intersection of art, music and technology, embodied by 42 abstract photographs and corresponding sonic compositions. The work traces the interest in complex medial structures back to aesthetic concepts that Elias Wessel and Natalia Kiës develop in close collaboration between 2014 and 2022. (In her essay »Photography as Experimental Arrangement and Thought Process,« Bärbel Kopplin provides an overview of the concept and creation process of Wessel’s Sprung in die Zeit pictures.) Seeking ways to sense and listen to the voice of the pictures, Kiës develops a technical set-up to generate sounds and compositions intuitively by touching the visual works (see video sample). Thus, the artists become the intermediary from the objects to the visuals to the sounds, that formulate their own (sonic) language. The incorporation of digital technologies such as face tracking, both in physical exhibitions and the online experience, creates new possibilities for combining sound, image, language, space and movement. As a result, a new form of encounter arises for the viewer, which is perceived differently than the encounter with either of the media individually.

To observe the online experience and for additional information visit: www.sprungindiezeit.com

Screenshot of the online experience Sprung in die Zeit. The according audio works are created and composed on the original pictures. Images and sounds interact with the viewer via face tracking. A project by Elias Wessel and Natalia Kiës and their collaborators Max Schweder and Tobias Hartmann at Cylvester, Manu Schlindwein and Patrick Weiss.

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