1986
In the March 1986 issue of the French cultural magazine L'Autre Journal, philosopher and editor Nadia Tazi interviewed Max Neuhaus regarding his site-specific installation at the Montparnasse-Bienvenüe métro station in Paris.
This installation, titled "Montparnasse-Bienvenüe" was a landmark in public sound art, and the article "Max Neuhaus Montparnasse-Bienvenue" (pp. 42-43) explores several key themes:
Aural Architecture: Tazi and Neuhaus discuss how sound can be used as a physical material to "re-build" the identity of a subterranean transit space 1.1.1.
The "Non-Place": The piece addresses the anonymity of the métro station, with Neuhaus describing his work as a way to create a "place" within a space that people usually pass through without notice 1.1.3.
Perceptual Continuity: Neuhaus emphasizes that the sound was designed to be heard as a natural part of the environment, rather than as an external "broadcast" or "music" 1.1.3.
This 1986 interview is historically significant as it documents Neuhaus's first major permanent European project, which applied the principles of his Times Square work to the specific acoustic challenges of the Paris Métro.