and the language in art

When I looked into the Heidelberger Fruehling programme, I was very intrigued by Castor&&Pollux, which promised a 4D sound experience. It said: “A piece of musical theater that deals with human immortality through the interweaving of two myths – Greek antiquity and the futuristic utopia of transhumanism – that is »Castor && Pollux«. The setting of Jean-Philippe Rameau meets digital surround sound compositions for a 4D sound system.” Although it seemed a bit expensive (25 for students but 50 for non-students), I gave it a try. And it was really good.

The Alte Aula of Heidelberg university is an intimate and beautiful venue. The music and the visuals were engaging, and the atmosphere was very intriguing. To my surprise, there were singers who told a few stories besides singing beautifully. And should be no surprise that it was in German. My understanding of German is just of understanding few orders. So I got the point in most of the lines, but I missed all the detail. And I really felt the detail was key in this case. All the experience was so immersive and engaging, the poetry would give it the next level.

Nevertheless, this is a very interesting experience. It made me be more intrigued, and forced me to pay more attention to the music and the visuals, try to decode them better without hints. It made it all more intriguing, although sometimes frustrating. It made me wonder: Is there a language in art? What is the role of language in art? Music, visuals, dance don’t need words. But sometimes in abstract or complex art pieces, even in dance, for example in Pina Bausch pieces, words are added, therefore a language is attached. What are these words and why are they necessary? I view them as hints from the creators, to understand better forms of expression we are not so educated in reading (such as sound or movement). But maybe the creators don’t see them as such, they just make a part of a complete piece. Of course, language has subtleties, and we would lose several layers if we decided to translate all the pieces to a common language. It is often the case with translated books that they could lose a bit of essence. But this puts foreigners, who don’t speak the language, in a funny situation. Does this make art less accessible?

From my experience, if the piece is good, the experience would be as I described for Castor&&Pollux. Perhaps a bit frustrating at times but stimulating all the senses and attention, a good way of being challenged. A way to open more our minds and hearts, and try to listen better. I have had experiences where the pieces were not that great and there was nowhere to focus besides the lack of understanding of the language. It is interesting though, because a lot of a country’s culture and essence can transpire in the art created by their natives, and speaking the language is really a key to be able to fully experience this and understand a culture better. I thought I would try to remember and ask for all my next events if there will be major text in German, foreseeing to avoid it. But now I am not so sure. The same way it doesn’t prevent me to come back to Wuppertal to watch Pina Bausch, it shouldn’t prevent me from experience other (even if unknown to me) art.

Castor&&Pollux creates a dialogue, and leaves a lot of questions open. It is definitely worth experiencing. For more about this project see the trailer (in German) below or visit https://www.heidelberger-fruehling.de/castorpollux