Sound art

Sound art is an artistic discipline in which sound is utilised as a primary medium. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art is interdisciplinary in nature, or takes on hybrid forms. Sound art can engage with a range of subjects such as acoustics, psychoacoustics, electronics, noise music, audio media, found or environmental sound, explorations of the human body, sculpture, architecture, film or video and an ever-expanding set of subjects that are part of the current discourse of contemporary art.[1]

In Western art, early examples include Luigi Russolo's Intonarumori or noise intoners, and subsequent experiments by Dadaists, Surrealists, the Situationist International, and in Fluxus happenings. Because of the diversity of sound art, there is often debate about whether sound art falls within the domain of either the visual art or experimental music categories, or both.[2] Other artistic lineages from which sound art emerges are conceptual art, minimalism, site-specific art, sound poetry, electro-acoustic music, spoken word, avant-garde poetry, and experimental theatre.

Origin of the term in the United States

The earliest documented use of the term in the U.S. is from a catalogue for a show called "Sound/Art" at The Sculpture Center in New York City, created by William Hellerman in 1983. The show was sponsored by "The SoundArt Foundation," which Hellerman founded in 1982. The artists featured in the show were: Vito Acconci, Connie Beckley, Bill and Mary Buchen, Nicolas Collins, Sari Dienes and Pauline Oliveros, Richard Dunlap, Terry Fox, William Hellermann, Jim Hobart, Richard Lerman, Les Levine, Joe Lewis, Tom Marioni, Jim Pomeroy, Alan Scarritt, Carolee Schneeman, Bonnie Sherk, Keith Sonnier, Norman Tuck, Hannah Wilke, Yom Gagatzi. The following is an excerpt from the catalogue essay by art historian Don Goddard: "It may be that sound art adheres to curator Hellermann's perception that "hearing is another form of seeing,' that sound has meaning only when its connection with an image is understood... The conjunction of sound and image insists on the engagement of the viewer, forcing participation in real space and concrete, responsive thought rather than illusionary space and thought."[3]


Sound art in Europe

Belgium

The Klankenbos (Sound forest) of Provinciaal Domein Dommelhof is the biggest sound art collection in public space in Europe. In the forest there are 15 sound installation pieces by artists such as Pierre Berthet, Paul Panhuysen, Geert Jan Hobbijn (Staalplaat Soundsystem), Hans van Koolwijk, and others. Yearly in Kortrijk there is the sound art festival Wilde Westen (formerly known as Happy New Ears). In Bruxelles there are QO2 and Overtoon, two organisations that run artist-in-residence programms and organize events. Logos Foundation from Ghent is a sound art org run by Godfried-Willem Raes.

Croatia

In Zadar there is the Sea Organ which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps.

Germany

Originally from Amstrerdam, but moved to Berlin is Staalplaat, a record label focused on sound art and experimental music. Transmediale is a yearly festival focused on media art, covering many sound art performances and installtions.

The Netherlands

The Dutch sound art tradtion started more or less in the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium where Dick Raaijmakers worked in the 60s. Paul Panhuysen and Remko Scha developed many early sound art pieces in the 70s and 80s and set up the Apollohuis in Eindhoven. STEIM. WORM, Extrapool are active organisations that have sound art activities. Festival Polderlicht was a sound art festival running from 2000-2015. iii (Instrument Inventors innitiative]] is a The Hague based organisation focused on the creation of sound art pieces. The organisation has an active artist-in-residence programm and continuously invites sound artists to make new works at their location. The Netherlands have three academies where you can study in the direction of sound art Institute of Sonology, Art Science at Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and at the Utrecht School of the Arts in Utrecht.

Norway

Lydgalleriet (The Soundgallery) is a non-commercial gallery for sound based art practices, situated in the centre of Bergen.

Sweden

Playing the Building was an art installation by David Byrne, ex singer of Talking Heads, and Färgfabriken, an independent art venue in Stockholm. Elektronmusikstudion is an active organisation.

United Kingdom

A known sound art pieces in the UK are Blackpool High Tide Organ and Singing Ringing Tree. Although not build as sound art pieces, the UK has several acoustic mirrors along the coastline often explored by field recorders.

Sound art organizations and festivals

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Kahn. 2001, .
  2. ↑ Licht 2007, .
  3. ↑ Hellerman and Goddard 1983, .

References

Further reading

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