The Centre of Silence

Jesper Norda created the sound installation The Centre of Silence for the Kalmar Konstmuseum. The installation consists of an empty room and sound, nothing else. A voice describes the space and the movement of air molecules in the room. In between the pieces of text the listener is treated to silence, a sine wave and white noise. 

Architectures of Silence by Tom Kotik

Tom Kotik’s initial idea was to build a sound proof room with windows and put a rock band inside, playing at a top-volume, with the audience outside, not hearing anything. For financial reasons Tom decided to simplify the idea and created Rational Impulse, a sound proof box holding two speakers playing loud music.  

In later works he left out the noise but stayed on the subject of sound proofing and silence. An interesting idea how we can construct silence ourselves, in what Kotik calls ‘Architecture of Silence’. How do noise and silence influence us and the world around us? 

Rational Impulse was created in 2004, but from March 4th to April 25th, 2010, Tom Kotik’s work is exhibited at the Fundación Joan Miró in Barcelona. 

"Silence, Please"

Some sounds border on silence. They are unnoticed, ignored, but gently surround us every day. There is no complete silence in our world, even in our quietest moments. That is what "Silence, Please" illustrates.

Chris Kubick created a catalog of these sounds. He codified these sounds in the form of text (wrote them out on transparencies), thus creating a silent 'sound installation'. This catalog "attempts to represent peace, tranquility, emptiness".

If this installation just makes visitors more aware of the sounds around them, it already serves its purpose, in my opinion.