Hanne Darboven's harp solo – opus 45

in collaboration with the Herbert Foundation & the Hanne Darboven Foundation

Hanne Darboven’s visual work (1941 – 2009) is astounding, both visually and substantially. Numerous series of framed sheets of paper are covered with handwritten numbers, signs, and words. Exploring the concept of time – all-encompassing and elusive – is central to her work. To this end, Darboven develops her very own calculation system to convert Gregorian dates into a single number.

Darboven, who was also an excellent pianist, transposes these visual time calculations to music. The musical scores are an invitation to further reflect on the experience of time and require a personal appropriation by the performer.

Within the framework of the exhibition Hanne Darboven – Welttheater, Herbert Foundation organised the performance of the musical piece Harp Solo – Opus 45 (1998-2000) in collaboration with the Hanne Darboven Foundation and harpist Stef Van Vynckt

herbertfoundation.org