Words are not static. They don’t have fixed meanings. Language is constantly evolving and will continue to.

The famous German Dictionary (1838–1854/1961) by the Brothers Grimm attempts to create a “natural history of words” by focussing on associations and connections between the words rather than their abstract definitions.

Located in the newly opened Grimmwelt Kassel, Germany, “Wortarbeit” attempts to capture the visitors’ associations with words, in reference to the work of the Brothers Grimm. Within a predefined set of formulas (word connections), one word has to be explained by another word entered by the visitor. The results is a chain that grows endlessly word by word.

While one touchscreen is waiting for input, the visitors can explore the existing chain of words in various views on the other screens: chronologically, alphabetically, by popularity and through the semantic net, which reveals the complexity of the definitions entered by the visitors.

Visitors can also extend an independent chain of words in english.

The installation was designed and developed in collaboration with TheGreenEyl, Berlin, media planning by Stefan Helling.

Work
Screen Design, Java/OpenGL/Shader programming, multi-screen synchronisation

Photos
Markus Lerner