A desire for resonance

Re-figuration of a historical sound recording between archive and exhibition

Abstract

In his work, Stephen Greenblatt identifies two key forces at play in museum exhibits: resonance and wonder. This article examines the specific resonances of a sound recording from the sound archive of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, exhibited in the Humboldt Labor. It is the only Yiddish language recording in the archive's dialect collection. In conceptualising the record as an 'epistemic thing' (Rheinberger 1994), I view it in its mutually dependent context as an archive and exhibition object. In this figurative interweaving, specific sensual and socio-material dimensions emerge. In light of the curators' statements regarding their auditory perception, this investigation demonstrates how this is reflected materially in a desire for resonance in the exhibition space. This is based on the combination of the performative quality and material complexity of the object.