The Microphones
Sculpture (2017)
Runze Feng
Nasir maleki joo
By creating visual meaning from sound — an omnipresent force shaping modern existence — microphones become icons materializing the auditory dimension. Within our chaotic world, these devices epitomize the convergence of civilization and industry. Music, however, emerges as a dynamic resonance from profound historical foundations. Selecting Leipzig’s Musikhochschule as this installation’s site affirms that certain public spaces still permit retreat to the pre-industrial tranquility preceding rough mechanization and rapid urbanization.
Crafted from wood — a symbolic medium for speech and acoustic articulation—the microphones cluster while facing distinct directions, suggesting sound radiating from every corner of the Musikhochschule! This constellation transforms ambient noises into layered experiences that simultaneously enrich public space engagement and amplify the artwork’s conceptual resonance. Through this intervention, the artists forge connections between interior sonic worlds (born within the Conservatory’s walls) and external metropolitan soundscapes (pulsating beyond its architecture).