Play a Kandinsky: Review

The Centre Pompidou, Paris 

In my view there is considerable scope for more interactive gallery spaces and exhibitions which explore the synthesis of audible experiences with the visual. A notable recent example of this, was the “Play a Kandinsky” part of the ‘Sounds like Kandinsky’ exhibition with Google Arts & Culture at the Pompidou Centre in Paris (10 Feb 2021 - 31 Dec 2023). This was an interactive experience using technology to reinterpret the relationship between music, colour and form in Kandinsky’s paintings. Artificial intelligence created a direct transpositional process using original musical scores composed by the music artists, Antoine Bertin and NSDOS. In the experience, specific forms are invariably be linked to correlating sounds, which are the same for each visitor.

‘Sounds like Kandinsky’ with Google Arts & Culture at the Centre Pompidou

However, the interpretations made for the intermedial translation are subjective, having been partly generated by individual sound artists who can only guess the sounds which Kandinsky may have internally ‘heard’ from the images. Therefore, visitors should not be fooled that this is experience is parallel to any synaesthetic realities, or the sensory reactions felt by Kandinsky. The sounds which are generated are also vague, for instance a yellow rectangle is linked to a trumpet playing. A specific pitch, volume, rhythm or even melody is not considered. However, in my opinion, the immersive exhibition is a successful way to introduce audiences to intermedial thinking. It would be interesting to see a similar concept carried out with a living artist who can contribute to both the visual and audible aspects of the exhibition to understand a single person’s method of intermedial translation without speculation.