The title of this work, Modell zur Visualisierung (Model for Visualization), already presents an obvious reference to a physics experiment. And, resting on a light table, Carsten Nicolai’s work also visually resembles equipment in a research laboratory: a coil in a cathode ray tube picks up sound frequencies and converts them into a magnetic field. This affects a beam of electrons so that sounds become visible as blue light rays. But Nicolai’s Modell is about more than just introducing a matter of scientific interest into the field of art. The work also provides a litmus test of the working models that determine our perception and awareness thereof. In that capacity, it inspires utopian ideas of how the