Weimar, Germany 2004
'herkunft niemansland' / 'origin, no-man's land'
Exhibition
In the contemporary song archive “Die Singende Stadt”, 168 people are singing a song of their choice, displayed on 5 screens and divided into age groups. The piece is questioning the theory of Philosopher Johann Gottffried Herder of 200 years ago that the 'cultural peculiarities of a people are reflected in its songs'. Which influence has mass media and globalisation had on German culture and which songs will Weimar inhabitants remember when approached spontaneously?
To challenge the viewers opinion on identity and stereotypes, some English singers have been included in the video piece set against the majority of German performers. In an index book the viewer can find information about the song lyrics and the singers identities.
More questions were answered in a set of interviews with Weimar’s inhabitants and visitors alike in “Hören Sie noch oder Singen Sie schon?” (Are you still listening or already singing?). Viewers could sit down in a living room-style environment and listen to hours of footage on singing habits (what, when, how often) and when feeling inspired, add to the collection. Recording equipment was readily set up as the functional element of the installation “Mein Lied” (My song) and viewers were encouraged to contribute over the course of the exhibition.
In an effort to both inspire and remind people, song books from the past hundred and twenty years were offered for use on music stands as well as a display of notable German anthems of the period framed in spotlights on the wall. “Ein Lied fürs Volk”/One song for the nation' (1871-1922, 1922-1945, 1933-1945, 1950-1989, 1952/1956, since 1952).
The exhibition was followed up by an invitation to a conference on contemporary music (Stadtsound by Radio Lotte, EJWB 2004) where the project challenged the audience to re-consider the essence of national culture, singing habits and stereotypes while providing background information on the subject.
Audio Tracks
Click on the links below to hear a selection of audio tracks from the Weimar sessions (German). Some of these tracks are around 6MB each and may take a minute to load, so alternately you can right click 'save target as' on your mouse to save the track and ensure smooth playback if you have a dial-up connection.
For a downloadable pdf version of the Songbook to this exhibition (German and English), click here
To view a press cutting for this exhibition, click here.
(interviews : German)
'Die Singende Stadt / The Singing Town'
Residency
In spring 2003 Yvonne Buchheim was awarded a 3 months residency in Weimar. Based on the theory by German philosopher Johann G.Herder that cultural peculiarities of a people are reflected in its songs, Yvonne created a contemporary song archive. she recorded hundreds of people singing a song of their choice and offered a drawing as a currency.
The final outcome was exhibited in May 2004 at the ACC Galerie in Weimar.
(Recording in the studio)
(Song night at 'Schmales Handtuch')