Goethe Morphology Project

TRIEB

A visual and sonic approach to Goethe’s plant morphology through text, generative form, and touch.

123 sectionsGoethe’s essay in its complete sequence

DE · EN · JAOriginal, public-domain translation, and Japanese adaptation

Form · SoundOn-device generative images and sine-wave moirés

A morphology to see and hear

TRIEB begins with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Versuch die Metamorphose der Pflanzen zu erklären. The German text remains at the centre, accompanied by Emily M. Cox’s public-domain English translation and a Japanese adaptation by Code&Mode.

Each section becomes a distinct visual and acoustic situation. The forms are not botanical illustrations. They attempt to make relations such as expansion and contraction, repetition, transition, kinship, and metamorphosis perceptible. Sound is generated directly on the device from interacting sine waves.

TRIEB is neither a botanical reference nor a conventional musical instrument. It is an environment in which observation itself can be explored anew between word, form, sound, and action.

Interaction

Swipe horizontally to move to the previous or next section.
Tap the image area or mode label to move through IMAGE, READ, and PARALLEL.
Select Deutsch, English, or 日本語 to change the reading language.
Press and hold to create a temporary growth impulse.
Select SOUND to turn the on-device sound on or off.

Texts and rights

German text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Versuch die Metamorphose der Pflanzen zu erklären (1790), public domain. English text: translation by Emily M. Cox (1863), public domain. Japanese text: Code&Mode Japanese adaptation / 編訳.