Bernhard Leitner

Bernhard LeitnerThis monographic documentation presents the first ever overview of a multi disciplinary artistic oeuvre that goes back to 1968 and which has opened up completely new dimensions of spatial experience as well as hitherto unknown ways of seeing and hearing space. Sound is understood here as the creative conceptualisation of immaterial space compositions. One not only hears with one's ears, but with one's whole body. Laboratory style investigations into

This monographic documentation presents the first ever overview of a multi-disciplinary artistic oeuvre that goes back to 1968 and which has opened up completely new dimensions of spatial experience as well as hitherto unknown ways of seeing and hearing space. Sound is understood here as the creative conceptualisation of immaterial space-compositions. One not only hears with one's ears, but with one's whole body. Laboratory-style investigations into 'body-hearing' lead to sculptural sitting, standing and reclining objects. The results create an unusual synthesis of rigorous space-instruments with sensitive modes of perception. This applies equally to Bernhard Leitner's large-scale sound- architectures and to his open urban sound-spaces. The eye listens too, and the ear helps the eye to read. A conversation between Ulrich Conrads and Bernhard Leitner explores the theme of sound, time and space as they occur in acoustics and architecture. (German edition available ISBN 3-89322-411-4) The artist: Bernhard Leitner, born 1938 in Austria. 1956-1963 Technische Hochschule, Vienna. 1963-1966 studies in Paris. 1968 first theoretical investigations into sound-space-works. 1971 starts empirical experiments. 1974-1975 body-space investigations. Numerous exhibitions including documenta VII in Kassel, the Venice Biennale in 1986.