pissarro sounds

IAGS tested in an exhibition for the first time

Pissarro Sounds was the first public application of the Innosuisse research project Immersive Audio Guiding System (IAGS), which was carried out by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), iart and Idee und Klang Audio Design.

In its exhibition on Camille Pissarro, the Atelier der Moderne at the Kunstmuseum Basel offered a new, extended visitor experience with Pissarro Sounds. The artist Moritz Fehr (*1981, Berlin) created a sound art piece consisting of dynamic sound spaces for four exhibition rooms, which immersed visitors in the art and life of the French Neo-Impressionist using binaural synthesis and precise location tracking.

Visitors were able to participate in this immersive listening experience via headphones. What they heard referred to real locations and entered into a dialog with Pissarro's works. Numerous recordings were made on a trip to the places where the painter lived and which he immortalized in his paintings, including his studio and the church in Éragny-sur-Epte, the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris and the port of Le Havre. Moritz Fehr used these to compose acoustic sound spaces that added an audible layer to the visual impression of the visitors. Depending on which room you were in, a different thematic focus was presented, which contextualized the visible works in a variety of ways. Quotes from letters by the artist and his contemporaries complemented the listening experience.

Further information on the technical functionality can be found on the Immersive Audio Guiding System (IAGS) sub-site. In Pissarro Sounds, a classically constructed art exhibition was overlaid with a completely new, interactive sound experience. We have developed an entire concept for breathing new life into existing exhibitions by adding an extra layer of sound. Learn more about Second Layer Soundwalk here.

Pissarro Sounds - Kunstmuseum Basel from iart on Vimeo.

Project partner: iart & FHNW
Research team: Thomas Resch, Hannes Barfuss, Anna Pfeiffer, Elias Hodel, Ramon De Marco, Jascha Dormann, Valentin Spiess, Ivo Schüssler, Christian Studach, Michael Lotz, Marcel Colomb