Auditorium of rotting sounds

Our research project is physically located at the main campus of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, in the only unrestored building which used to be an auditorium of the former School for Veterinary Medicine.

Auditorium of rotting sounds, photo by Tobias Leibetseder

Address: Altes Auditorium, Anton von Webern Platz 1, 1030 Wien.
The building is the northern half-round element on the back side of building S on the campus.

We run our own project-related experiments with sound and media in this room, but it is also a publicly accessible listening space. We integrate external artistic positions which are related to our research agenda, that is, working with digital sound and time-dependency.
Conceptually, we refer to the legendary Mold museum (Schimmelmuseum) by artist Dieter Roth. Roth is well-known for his works with (bio-)degradable art and established his Schimmelmuseum in 1992 both as a workplace and a museum for the produced works.

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Live audio stream of the installations at the Auditorium

Currently, the following works are on display:

Currently exhibited at ESC Medienkunstlabor in Graz, Austria:

Details about the space, the works and the artists can be found in our exhibition catalog.

Works on display in the Auditorium

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the Auditorium can currently one be visited upon individual appointment.

Research Day 2021, Academy of Fine Arts, November 11

On November 19, 2021 by Thomas Grill - Announcement, Auditorium of rotting sounds, Dissemination

Almut Schilling will hold a lecture at the Research Day 2021, titled “Auditorium of Rotting Sounds: Maintaining Digital Decay”

At the beginning of the artistic research project we manifested that data degrade inevitable and we do perceive decay as transformation. With the establishment of the Auditorium of Rotting Sounds an extraordinary space, dedicated to site specific artworks, was created, to let the sound objects rot.
But how to control the temporal transformation of digital data, which basically are inherent dynamic systems? How to classify determinants and the symptoms of decay and its effects? And how to understand and perceive those created aesthetics?
Considering the difference between things (physical entities defined by its material properties) and objects (conceptual entities generated and perceived by semantically thinking) it is fundamental to ensure a certain legibility within the flow of time, which means to prevent that those entities are drifting too far apart. Consequently the maintenance, the controlled ›aging‹, appeared to reflect the individual artwork conceptually and its growing patina.

11.11.2021, 10:00–17:45
Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Wien, Sitzungssaal

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Auditorium of Rotting sounds, open 12.11. 15:30-18:00

On November 10, 2021 by Thomas Grill - Announcement, Auditorium of rotting sounds

On the occasion of the Wien Modern festival‘s event Einschreibung, Übertragung, Abtragung (Inscription, Transmission, Erosion) taking place at the mdw Future Art Lab building, we will open the Auditorium of Rotting sounds, the sound art exhibition of the artistic research project rotting sounds, in the afternoon prior to the concert.

The following time slots are available for a maximum of 10 visitors each: 3:30 pm, 4:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 5:00 pm, 5:30 pm.

Please register with auditorium@rottingsounds.org stating your preferred time slot.

Auditorium of Rotting Sounds VR visit, by Kathrin Hunze

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Dust a bit – recordings

On June 7, 2020 by Thomas Grill - Auditorium of rotting sounds, Dissemination, News

The audio-laser installation dust a bit by Klaus Filip is the first of our installations, which – over the duration of more than a year – has eroded to a state which would be commonly described as “broken”, at least from the standpoint of the original concept.
The audio signal is not modulated onto the laser any more, as intended – what is heard is purely collected, amplified noise.

At this point, we will not attempt to repair it because it is already scheduled to upgrade the installation to a fully digital version on the basis of our custom 1-bit audio hardware DADA. We expect this to happen at the end of June 2020.

In the last year, the installation has been restarted a couple of times because the carefully calibrated laser beam tends to wander out of focus by the time. This is most probably due to temperature changes and/or vibrations, causing the mirrors to lose their precise adjustment.

We have prepared timelapse recordings of the sonic developments of the several installation runs – every time several weeks of collecting “dust”. One minute of a time lapse corresponds to a day of operation. Technically, the recordings are concatenated (and cross-faded) 1-minute snapshots taken every 12 hours. The naming of the recordings corresponds to their starting date. Enjoy!

2019-05-07 2019-08-21 2019-09-20 2019-11-07

“Fragments” performance evening

On October 4, 2019 by Till Bovermann - Auditorium of rotting sounds, Dissemination, Fragments, Report

Some impressions of the “Fragments” performance evening that took place on October 2, 2019 at the Auditorium for Rotting Sounds, featuring Tobias Leibetseder, Angélica Castelló, Elisabeth Flunger and Thomas Grill.

Performances at the Auditorium: “Fragments”, October 2

On August 21, 2019 by Thomas Grill - Announcement, Auditorium of rotting sounds, Fragments, News

The performance evening will revolve around Tobias Leibetseder‘s processual and constantly changing sculpture “Fragments“. It is in permanent development and consists of artifacts of the Rotting sounds research process. Waste, things collected, things stored and put aside, texts, pictures, data, sounds etc. are the basis of the shape-changing work. Object or exhibition, museum or archive, collection or documentation are moments of intrinsic research and decomposition, accompanying the process and resting in the distant but immediate eye of the observer.

Tobias Leibetseder‘s performance Transformation 1 is a transformation step and insight into the process of fragments. Artifacts as materials and sounds are transformed into new shapes and synthesized in a performative and concert act.

Angélica Castelló will present a performance based on recordings of her performance “Magnetic litany” from the opening evening of the Auditorium of Rotting sounds on March 29, 2019. It is connected to the permanently exhibited object “Magnetic Room“.

Elisabeth Flunger and Thomas Grill will jointly improvise on material and digital scrap. Everything seemingly valuable today will eventually transform into scraps. We take it as an aesthetic option.

October 2, 2019 19:00
Auditorium of Rotting sounds (Altes Auditorium)
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien

As the audience will have to be limited, admission is on personal registration only.

The pieces Magnetic litany 1 and 2 by Angélica Castelló have been made possible by the support of El Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA).

Auditorium of Rotting sounds summer break

On July 10, 2019 by Thomas Grill - Announcement, Auditorium of rotting sounds

Due to the summer break at the University of Performing Arts Vienna, we suspend our regular opening times through July and August. Visiting the Auditorium is still possible by individual appointment, though.

Article in Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard, February 20

On February 25, 2019 by Thomas Grill - Auditorium of rotting sounds, Dissemination, News

Journalist Doris Griesser has authored a nice feature article on the opening of the upcoming “Auditorium of Rotting sounds” for the Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard.

Spannend, was aus diesen wissenschaftlichen Expeditionen erwachsen kann. Vielleicht auch eine neue Ästhetik des Verfalls und des Unperfekten.

Opening of the Auditorium of rotting sounds, March 29, 6pm

On January 16, 2019 by Thomas Grill - Announcement, Auditorium of rotting sounds, News

Program:
Reinhold Friedl: Die Suche nach dem Original: vom Verfall elektroakustischer Musik – lecture
Klaus Filip: Sonic Dust – opto-acoustic performance
Till Bovermann: Buffer manipulations – live coding performance
Mario de Vega: Suspension – for quadraphonic system, tape, objects and self-made electronics

at the Bankettsaal of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien, Austria

The Auditorium is open after 7pm with the following works on display:
Angélica Castelló: Magnetic Room – objects and sound installation
Klaus Filip: Dust a bit – opto-acoustic installation
Juliana Herrero and Thomas Grill: Antenna – sounding object
Martin Howse: Enrichment and depletion – installation
Nicole Krenn and Thomas Grill: Fields of Haze – audiovisual installation
Tobias Leibetseder: Fragments – installation
Mario de Vega: Intermission – sounding object
Till Bovermann and Almut Schilling: CD-R(ot) – sound installation
… and other works and experimental setups of the project team Thomas Grill, Till Bovermann and Almut Schilling.

Live events in the Auditorium during the opening:
Angélica Castelló: Magnetic litany – Performance
Charlotta Ruth: Intervention
Dario Sanfilippo: Phase transitions – Multi-channel electroacoustic performance

For a visit of the auditorium at the opening a personal registration is absolutely recommended!

Workshop with Martin Howse and Till Bovermann on circulation/corruption:
28.3., 10:00 to 17:30 and 29.3., 09:30 to 13:00
at the Senatssitzungsraum (AW L0123) and the whole campus.

The rotting sounds project is a cooperation between the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).

Exploratorium at the MDW campus

On May 9, 2018 by Thomas Grill - Auditorium of rotting sounds, News

Today, we have received the keys to the old abandoned anatomy auditorium located on the campus of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW). This is the last unrenovated part of the whole campus and it will function as a lab and exhibition space for experiments over the course of the whole project. Many thanks to the rector of the MDW for her friendly consent.