Krenek Digitization

Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) has lived throughout most of the twentieth century and has contributed to its cultural life with a variety of compositions and writings. Cultural heritage, music history and art education determine a variety of reasons for the necessity of the preservation and academically accurate presentation of the Krenek Residence. After having served as a home and creative space for Ernst and Gladys Krenek for half a century, the house has been marked by its former inhabitants’ personalities and idiosyncratic needs, and thus represents a relevant addition to the Institute's archive holdings as an independent biographical document. Besides the importance of the house as a biographical document, it is also the place where Krenek kept und used most of the objects and documents that represent the collection of the archive today. Many of his own works were originally created there. As a connecting element, the house contributes to the comprehension of the abundance of materials preserved in the archive and delivers a context for the interpretation of these materials. Thus, the house can be understood as a metaphorical focal point for Ernst Krenek's physical and mental environment, his world of thought and creativity. The aim of the project is the thorough digital documentation of the Krenek Residence, as well as the creation of a precise virtual reproduction that can serve as an educational tool for enabling visitors to engage with Krenek’s life and work by exploring the digitized materials of the archive within the virtual residence. An implementation of the project into the exhibition and on the website of the Krenek Institute is intended. As part of this research cooperation between the Ernst Krenek Institute, the Center for Applied Game Studies and the Center for Applied Music Research, possibilities for digitizing the comprehensive collection will be explored. The project focuses on creating a digital version of the Ernst Krenek residence in Palm Springs and making it accessible as part of an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The virtual reconstruction should be representative of the period in which Ernst and Gladys used the house as a combined living and working space. By integrating a variety of narrative and interactive elements, based on concepts derived from state of the art game-design practice, the virtual residence will not only serve as a mere object of visualization, but also as a tool for conveying cultural heritage and its context by enabling audiences to explore its contents on their own. The virtual residence will be designed as an adaptable environment in which the narrative and interactive elements can be expanded or altered in the future, making it a flexible tool for a wide range of education and exhibition activities in the long term.