Max Neuhaus

1999
Suspended Sound Line, Bern 1999
Sound Work Location: Lorrainestrasse 1, Bern, Switzerland Dimensions: 3 x 30 meters
Collection: Kunst im öffentlichen Raum die Stadt Bern. Extant: 1999–Present.



Outside/Inside

The Suspension Bridge.  It is, first of all, in the form of an arch.  It crosses over a road and leads from the former site of a technical school to the new location.  Going from the old school, one  crosses under a white structure on which are attached the bridge's suspension cables. To the right is a park with a playground.  To the left is an apartment building.  The walk across, up one side, down another, takes about fifteen seconds.

The impact of this form lies in its contradiction to our assumptions about sound itself. Instead of sound being dispersed evenly, here we have a seeming impossibility: highly defined sound zones standing in free space without apparent source. This physical form and its contradictions are one element of this sound work; the other, of course, is the sounds themselves. 

Max Neuhaus, Notes for Suspended Sound Line, 1996.