zwischenraum – interspace – acoustic cartography

Julia Jasmin Rommel (DE)

This project is based on an artistic exploration of the acoustic measurement of space. zwischenraum is an audiovisual installation based on several cartographic documents. Some of them are long-term documentations of the relations of different places to each other, others are concrete snapshots of linear distances. 

interspace describes a temporal-spatial interval—a mental state we enter in our routine of crossing distances. It addresses aspects like transitions, restlessness and continuity, sense of orientation or change of direction, which are documented by experimental but context–related criteria and methods. Space-structuring elements such as tunnel and bridge crossings, counter-trains, flight booking data, or curve angles, form the parameters of these movement protocols. 

As it is my aim to go beyond factual cognitive analysis and to express the poetic qualities of these specific spatial configurations the cartography is translated into sound. The Graphical Sequencer IanniX triggers live acoustic events as a time-based medium following a visual system of curve and cursor. 

As a resident at the Hertz Lab at ZKM Karlsruhe the focus of my work on graphic notation was not only on creating the sound material, but mainly on the spatial arrangement of information using the ZKM’s Sound Dome sound spatialization system. The direction of the sound source becomes an important means of describing the properties of the respective parameters of a map. In a corresponding arrangement of the channels, the changes of direction repeatedly addressed in the maps are translated as sounds moving towards or away from one another, circling around the audience, transporting speed and density and velocity of the map. 

My interest lies in the interface between reading signs and interpreting images, and how this is related to the potential of acoustic information as a tool for spatial orientation. The design of a “cartophony” wants to enable a multilayered perception of information through the interaction between the two different levels of visual and auditive perception. 

This project is based on an artistic exploration of the acoustic measurement of space. zwischenraum is an audiovisual installation based on several cartographic documents. Some of them are long-term documentations of the relations of different places to each other, others are concrete snapshots of linear distances. 

interspace describes a temporal-spatial interval—a mental state we enter in our routine of crossing distances. It addresses aspects like transitions, restlessness and continuity, sense of orientation or change of direction, which are documented by experimental but context–related criteria and methods. Space-structuring elements such as tunnel and bridge crossings, counter-trains, flight booking data, or curve angles, form the parameters of these movement protocols. 

As it is my aim to go beyond factual cognitive analysis and to express the poetic qualities of these specific spatial configurations the cartography is translated into sound. The Graphical Sequencer IanniX triggers live acoustic events as a time-based medium following a visual system of curve and cursor. 

As a resident at the Hertz Lab at ZKM Karlsruhe the focus of my work on graphic notation was not only on creating the sound material, but mainly on the spatial arrangement of information using the ZKM’s Sound Dome sound spatialization system. The direction of the sound source becomes an important means of describing the properties of the respective parameters of a map. In a corresponding arrangement of the channels, the changes of direction repeatedly addressed in the maps are translated as sounds moving towards or away from one another, circling around the audience, transporting speed and density and velocity of the map. 

My interest lies in the interface between reading signs and interpreting images, and how this is related to the potential of acoustic information as a tool for spatial orientation. The design of a “cartophony” wants to enable a multilayered perception of information through the interaction between the two different levels of visual and auditive perception. 

www.juliarommel.com/h_zwischenraum.html
vimeo.com/603852157
vimeo.com/825478042

Concept, cartography, sound: Julia Jasmin Rommel 

Residency at Hertz Lab at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe 

Julia Jasmin Rommel (DE) studied visual communication and scenography in Berlin, Stockholm and Zürich. Her work concentrates on the intersection between information and scenography. Beside her artistical and theoretical examination on the topic of (dis-)orientation and her passion for cartography, she is creating stage design and spatial interventions for contemporary and classical music theater productions. She has been collaborating with Zafraan Ensemble Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker and the Ministry of Operatic Affairs among others. Furthermore she has been working as a designer for signage systems, e.g. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (for Integral Zürich). 

Julia Jasmin Rommel (DE) studied visual communication and scenography in Berlin, Stockholm and Zürich. Her work concentrates on the intersection between information and scenography. Beside her artistical and theoretical examination on the topic of (dis-)orientation and her passion for cartography, she is creating stage design and spatial interventions for contemporary and classical music theater productions. She has been collaborating with Zafraan Ensemble Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker and the Ministry of Operatic Affairs among others. Furthermore she has been working as a designer for signage systems, e.g. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (for Integral Zürich).