Ludwig Lives Exhibition

Press Kit

Unique Properties

With the exhibition Ludwig lebt Beethoven im Pop on the occasion of the composer's 250th birthday, the German Rock'n'Pop Museum explores obvious and surprising effects of Beethoven on our pop culture. From the 5th Symphony being sent into space or the piano piece Für Elise, to which the rubbish is picked up in Taiwan. There were also the Beatles, Accept, A Clockwork Orange, Inglorious Basterds, the Peanuts or a jar of gherkins.

Dimensions & Packaging

I designed all the decors of the fabrics from scratch. The wall hangings, which seem historical at first glance, surprise with serial decors based on familiar pictograms - from social media and technical icons to computer symbols. Thus, despite their historical flair, completely up-to-date wall hangings were created that only seem to quote the past. The icons succeeded in transferring the wall hangings into today's pop culture, but the design only made it noticeable at second glance.

Tags

Exhibition design, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pop culture, Anniversary, Scenography, Museum

Production Technology

The exhibition went over two floors, so that two designs were also created in terms of design. On the lower floor, historical rooms were created from a recyclable aluminium system covered with printed fabric. The upper floor was produced as a disco from a painted wooden stand system with partial printing. The interactive dance floor at the centre of the production played 25 interpretations of the 5th symphony, a different one on each square. The sound design was transported via the headphone system.

Design Challenge

Visitors wear headphones in the exhibition. The audio system locates the respective visitor and plays audio according to his or her position. These can be spoken texts or music, but also synchronised sound tracks from videos or acoustic effects. In this concept, different speakers navigate visitors through the exhibition and introduce upcoming passages. Overlapping sounds create an atmosphere that informs visitors and also builds tension and provides entertainment: acoustic scenography.

Project Duration

25 April 2021 - 03 October 2021
rock'n'popmuseum, Gronau/Germany

Operation Flow

The special exhibition is aimed at visitors from all over Germany and the Netherlands who are interested in pop music and culture and people who want to gain insights into Beethoven's influence on the present.

Visitors are localised via the headphones and content is played to them in sync with videos or as part of the acoustic scenography. Beethoven himself or concertgoers have their say, as do current artists and pop stars. Certain anecdotes from his life are told in a rather unconventional way.

Research

Together, the museum team, curators and the design team developed the script of the spatial-thematic mapping. All areas, elements, texts, media, exhibits, dimensions, etc. were defined here. The basis was an internet platform that everyone could access and make changes to. One column of the table was reserved for the respective tasks. Coloured markings showed the current processing status. The continuously updated script thus became the most important element for the curatorial team spread all over Germany.

Inspiration

After researching and analysing late baroque or classicist culture and architecture, the idea arose to design rooms that reflect this historical atmosphere. Fabric-covered walls - like those found in Muensterland moated castles as a local reference - with many framed paintings, creaking wooden floors and selected individual pieces of furniture convey this mood of the 18th and 19th centuries. The overall design of the exhibition was made up of three building blocks: Colours, fonts and decors.

Image Credits

Main illustrations: Tobi Dahmen
Additional illustrations: Maria Picasso i Piquer, Christoph Niemann, Dirk Uhlenbrock, Frank Hoppmann, Sarah Gorf-Roloff, Jörg Stauvermann
All photos: Thorsten Schmidtkord

Colors of Ludwig Lives Exhibition