Rotunda. Music of Encounters
The seemingly empty architectural space was transformed by the museum visitors into a vibrant resonating body. Their movements triggered individual sound sequences that merged into a polyphonic composition – a musical reflection of their physical presence. As their presence generated sound and their absence silence, the visitors themselves became part of the composition. This moment-based music emerged from a multifaceted sound library that Huber created recording the Irvine and four other instruments – viola, flute, piano, and bass.
The site-specific sound installation built on the artwork Symphony of Encounters, which Rupert Huber developed in collaboration with AVL, Graz University of Technology, and the AVL Cultural Foundation. As with Symphony of Encounters, interactive sensor technology was used – this time developed by Ars Electronica Solutions. Sensors and speakers installed in the Rotunda’s dome translated the visitors’ movements into music – thus turning the space itself into a work of art.
To unveil the source of its unique sound, the Irvine was exhibited at the Rotunda during the final week of the project, marking its first public appearance outside Austria. Rupert Huber’s artistic interventions on the Irvine provided a fitting finale to the project.
