The text Sound Art by Alan Licht covers the beginnings, the artists and the ideas behind sound art.
Licht stats by explaining that many artists or galleries describe a piece as being sound art when it actually isn’t. This is done to give legitimacy to an artist or a piece; if a work fails as a music composition, then by saying it is sound art will give it a certain artistic value, as well as making it more “museum friendly”. To best describe the difference between the genres, Licht explains that a pop music composition has a beginning, a middle, and an end, as well as being an “amusement park ride” with “thrills and chills”. On the other hand, sound art can be like a walk through a zoo, or through a fridge. It also has no true beginning or ending, and won’t try, like other genres of music, to capture the human essence.
Licht, afterward, continues to discuss what describes a sound art experience, talking about other aspects such as dance, light and synesthesia. He also looks more in depth at spatiality, visual effects, nature, technologies, noise, senses and sculptures.
After that, the Licht looks at how sound and music are related in the art world.
I was particularly interested in how Licht wrote about all these aspects of sound art. I have always tried to define the genre, and found that most text were hard to understand or wouldn’t go in depth enough. Moreover, I was impressed by how many artists were quoted, and how many pieces are included in pictures or descriptions in the text.
Hollis Sound Garden
Jullius
Leitner
Marclay
Electrical walks