ILAP: The Mayer Dossier (Part 1)
Exhibition in the foyer of the Saalbau Neukölln
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A Meridian In Neukölln
Waves |
Waves surround us. They are produced by mankind and they evolve naturally.
Minor pressure fluctuations can continue as waves in the elastic media of air and water or within a solid body. In the troposphere sound waves spread out at an estimated speed of 340m/s. Acoustic velocity is linked to temperature: The colder it is the slower sound spreads, and vice versa. Acoustic velocity is also affected by medium: Sound spreads 30 times faster in water than in air.
Within a certain range waves are recognisable to the human ear. Acoustic pressure ranges from 20 µPa to the threshold of noise pain at 150 Pa. Its frequency lies between est.16Hz (lower auditory threshold) and 20 kHz (upper auditory threshold). Unpleasantly loud sounds are often experienced as noise.
Mayer has experienced various kinds of waves in Neukölln, and he is extraordinarily gifted in being able to hear and experience those waves which are outside the normal auditory threshold. According to Norbert Mayer's own statement:
| 'I went down the street with two of my friends. The sun set - I felt a tinge of melancholy - suddenly the sky turned red as blood. I stopped and leaned completely exhausted against a fence. I saw the flaming clouds like blood and swords, the deep black canal and the town. My friends walked on, but there I stood, trembling with fear, and I felt an unending scream piercing nature.' |
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(Interview dating from 28th March 2003, Berliner Zeitung) |
He has created his life's work through experiencing waves and sounds which he then recorded and analysed in Neukölln by means of special instruments. Finally he has discovered a resulting line of connected points in Neukölln. This line is where most waves appear to arise from: The so-called meridian line.
For further information on the soil and air quality of Neukölln please go to http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de.
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In those flats in Neukölln which are situated on the line, Mayer has set up specific measuring instruments. |
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Entrance to instrument point 4: Kolonie am Buschkrug |
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22nd of September 1994: The measurements at Scheveningstraße comprise part of Mayer's experiments with covering and mapping his surroundings. |
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23rd May 1996: This is one of many red marks left by Mayer during his mapping of Neukölln. It is the line on Lipschitzallee. |
Pictures: ILAP