Wittenhorn" art project at Witten/Herdecke University: a slide as a source of music

Since the winter semester 2023/24, Oleg Yushko, Artist in Residence at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), has been observing life on campus and has been in contact with staff and students. This inspired him to create the "Wittenhorn" art project, for which the work is now almost complete: A sculpture can be seen and heard in the university's wooden building from Thursday, 20 June 2024 and will be accompanied by a performance on Saturday, 29 June 2024.

A walk as an impulse

Shortly after starting at UW/H, Oleg Yushko explored his new location. He noticed a whistling noise that he located on the playground behind the university. There is a metal tube slide there. Yushko surmised that the noise was caused by the wind travelling through the slide. This observation prompted him to create a unique project: the live broadcast of the annual summer concert at UW/H onto the playground.

While the university choir and orchestra under the direction of Ingo Ernst Reihl rehearse the pieces in the main hall of the main building on Saturday, 29 June 2024 at 5 pm, the sound will be transmitted to the slide, which will be transformed into an oversized instrument similar to a horn - the final rehearsal of the concert can thus be experienced on the playground. At 7.30 pm, visitors will then have the opportunity to watch the premiere of the summer concert in the university hall. Another performance will take place on Sunday, 30 June, at 4 p.m. - but without any artistic action on the playground beforehand.

The slide as a model in the UW/H

A model of the slide, created by a 3D printer and equipped with a sound source, will also make an "appearance" at the summer concert on 29 June. In the weeks before and after the concert, it will be on display in the foyer of the university's wood building.

Oleg Yushko will thus conclude his stay as Artist in Residence at the UW/H; in the winter semester 2024/25, a new artist will join the WittenLab. Zukunftslabor Studium fundamentale will be strengthened.

The Chair of Digital Arts and Cultural Mediation of the WittenLab. Zukunftslabor Studium fundamentale at Witten/Herdecke University organises the artist-in-residence programme, which is funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation.