Painted MDF, 2 12-inch & 1 4-inch JBL full-range speakers, tri-pod, Crown amp, Tascam CD deck, cables, miscellaneous hardware
24″h x 21″w x 32″d
Installation view Diane Rosenstein Gallery, LA, CA
What Should a Museum Sound Like? is a site-specific work that samples from a text written in 1963 by Marcel Breuer, the architect for the Whitney Museum. Working with a voice actor, the Breuer text describing Breuer’s vision for the Whitney, was recorded. The floor plans and elevation drawings of the Whitney Museum were converted into a series of sounds using a composition and sound design program. The spoken word and floorplan-generated sounds were mixed live utilizing the stage and speakers in the Martin Kersels’ installation.
The current audio version of this work is comprised of the Breuer spoken word, which is periodically and abruptly interrupted by short bursts of noise generated from the floor plan sounds.