Klangkörper

Music is not only sound; it is also body and movement, and an expression of how a society sees itself. It can bring people together, cross boundaries and expand our awareness. Its character is rich, but also fleeting. How can it be made visible? The sculptures in Berlin’s Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art offer answers that are as surprising as those of actual musical instruments.

This volume brings the two into dialogue. Works of art from late antiquity to the nineteenth century meet playable instruments, opening up fresh perspectives on their form, function and history. The questions they share range from how music can be depicted at all to technical developments and sonic possibilities, from social hierarchies, gender roles and religious beliefs to unusual constructions and a delight in the strange. The works of Nevin Aladağ join this conversation: she transforms everyday objects into sculptural sound bodies in their own right. Music becomes visible even when silent, and art can be experienced as an interplay of body, sound and movement.