Kristallstimmen

Kristallstimmen is a permanent interactive installation designed for Swarovski’s “Crystal Worlds Museum” in Wattens, Austria. The piece features an array of 3,000 suspended loudspeakers, each clad in hundreds of small black crystals that get illuminated when in use. As visitors traverse the space, sensors detect their presence and turn on the speaker directly above them, which lights up and plays a voice message. Each loudspeaker contains a recording from a different employee from around the world, speaking in their native language about their relationship to crystal, with over 100 languages represented. When no visitor is present, the installation is silent.

The installation serves as a social sculpture, shifting focus from the product to the individuals whose work brings it to life, and giving the company’s diverse workforce a presence in the Museum: designers, engineers, welders, researchers, salespeople, technicians, and others.

General info

Year of creation:
2024
Technique:
3000 Custom-made speakers, LED lights, computer, micro-SD cards, injection molded housing, small crystals, Orbec cameras, custom-made light and audio controllers, ARTnet DMX interface.
Dimensions:
24 x 4m
Keywords:
indoor, permanent, tracker, database, interactive, lights, sound, surveillance
Edition:
1 Edition

Exhibitions


Credits

  • Electronics: Stephan Schulz
  • Software: Hugo Daoust
  • Production: Tim Belliveau, Benoit Soucy, Emily Green, Steven Hoffart, William Sutton, Najeeba Ahmed, Agnès Dakroub, Gabriel Rizzotti, Jade Séguéla, Detlef Schulz.
  • Swarovski Team: Carla Rumler, Birgit Schönegger, Christian Kleinbauer, Daniel Schweiger, Darko, Markus Danzl, Michael Pichler, Roland Muigg.

Bibliography