Acoustic Catacombs (2010) – Hanna Hartman

Sound installation
Floor painted red, loudspeakers, multichannel audio
Commande du ministère de la Culture et de la Communication—Centre national des arts plastiques, dépot aux Musée Réattu, Arles

Hanna Hartman

born 1961 in Uppsala (SE), lives in Berlin (DE)

The composition and installation Acoustic Catacombs was created by Hanna Hartman in 2010 for a specific room in the Musée Réattu in Arles in southern France. The location of that space has two unusual features: The Rhône River, which is already very broad at this point, flows directly toward the museum and the room before making a bend. Moreover, there is a large vault beneath the museum. The latter was the point of departure for the composition, in which Hanna Hartman conveys a musical idea of what could happen acoustically in the catacombs. Visitors can follow these acoustic visions with their ears and body while standing or lying on the red floor.