ÈEnergie_PassagenÇ [Energy_Passages] Ð 
Reading and (De)Scribing the City

Language is intellectual energy which shapes a city. The conversations of its inhabitants and the language of politics and of the media represent flows of energy. They form the city’s invisible architecture which is ÈmeasuredÇ and made visible in this installation. 

Starting point for ÈEnergie_PassagenÇ are texts taken from a mass medium, the daily newspaper. An automated computer process analyses the German newspaper, ÈSŸddeutsche ZeitungÇ, and reduces it to catchwords. The terms which are filtered in this process are then projected as the Èinformation flowÇ onto the square ÈSalvatorplatzÇ in Munich.

As a visitor, you have a choice of terms which you can select and ÈthrowÇ into the flow. Thus, movements of text are initiated and links between the terms become apparent. The resulting networks of terms create contextual links and new meanings which differ from the original linear texts. Computer voices immediately react to your ÈinputÇ and accompany you in an echo of many voices.

In addition, a world map visualizes the path through the geographic landscape of news which the visitor takes based upon her/his choice. A developing linear illustration emphasizes the links between local location and global events. 

The visible result of this interactive process is the ÈLiving NewspaperÇ. Its dynamically generated texts are also projected onto the Èinformation cubeÇ. The de-construction of the newspaper based upon the fragmentation and transformation of its original content facilitates a new form of reading and understanding. The flow’s artificial voices invite you to discover new contexts. 

ÈEnergie_PassagenÇ demonstrates how meaning is generated by difference and offers a sensuously perceptible scope of action which releases a new communication potential. 

Installation of Monika Fleischmann & Wolfgang Strauss

Exhibition: 28. October Ð 29. November 2004, daily 18 Ð 22 pm
Location: Salvatorplatz at Literaturhaus, Munich
Opening: 28. October, 19.00 pm

Production: MARS-Exploratory Media Lab, Fraunhofer-Institute for Media Communication, Sankt Augustin

Team: 
Adam Butler, Jochen Denzinger, Vera Doerk, Ansgar Himmel, Christina Kleinjohann, Bernd Kolbeck, Rainer Liesendahl, Lina Lubig, Andreas Muxel, Stefan Paal, Predrag Peranovic, Philipp Wever, Stephen Williams, Lars Zahl, Stefanie Zobel 

A project of the City Munich, Kulturreferat & the artists within the initiative of ÈOrtstermine 2004 Ð art in public spaceÇ 

Further information and images: 
http://www.energie-passagen.de