Sound installation
Encyclopedia
Sound installation is an intermedia
and time based art form. It is an expansion of an art installation in the sense that it includes the sound element and therefore the time element. The main difference with a sound sculpture is that a sound installation has a three dimensional space and the axes with which the different sound objects are being organized are not exclusively internal to the work, but also external. A work of art is an installation only if it makes a dialog with the surrounding space. A sound installation is usually a site-specific
but sometimes it can be readapted to other spaces. It can be made either in close or open spaces, and context is fundamental to determine how a sound installation will be aesthetically perceived.
The difference between a regular art installation and a sound installation is that the later one has the time element, which gives the visiting public the possibility to stay a longer time due possible curiosity over the development of sound. This temporal factor also gives the audience the excuse to explore the space thoroughly due to the dispositions of the different sounds in space.
Sound installations sometimes use interactive art technology (computers, sensors, mechanical
and kinetic
devices, etc.) but we also find this type of art form using only sound sources placed in different space points (like speakers), or acoustic music instruments materials like piano strings that are played by a performer or by the public (see Paul Panhuysen
).
Intermedia
Intermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
and time based art form. It is an expansion of an art installation in the sense that it includes the sound element and therefore the time element. The main difference with a sound sculpture is that a sound installation has a three dimensional space and the axes with which the different sound objects are being organized are not exclusively internal to the work, but also external. A work of art is an installation only if it makes a dialog with the surrounding space. A sound installation is usually a site-specific
Site-specific art
Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
but sometimes it can be readapted to other spaces. It can be made either in close or open spaces, and context is fundamental to determine how a sound installation will be aesthetically perceived.
The difference between a regular art installation and a sound installation is that the later one has the time element, which gives the visiting public the possibility to stay a longer time due possible curiosity over the development of sound. This temporal factor also gives the audience the excuse to explore the space thoroughly due to the dispositions of the different sounds in space.
Sound installations sometimes use interactive art technology (computers, sensors, mechanical
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
and kinetic
Kinetic art
Kinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect. The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. Kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles.-Kinetic sculpture:...
devices, etc.) but we also find this type of art form using only sound sources placed in different space points (like speakers), or acoustic music instruments materials like piano strings that are played by a performer or by the public (see Paul Panhuysen
Paul Panhuysen
Paul Panhuysen is a Dutch composer, visual and sound artist. He founded and directed Het Apollohuis, an art space that functioned during the 80's and 90's having artists doing sound installations, sound sculptures, and concerts about free improvisation, experimental music, and electronic...
).
Sound structure in sound installations
- The simpler sound form is a repeating sound loop. This is mostly used in ambient art, and in this case the sound is not the determinant factor of the art work.
- The most used sound structure is the open form, since the public can decide to experience a sound installation for just a few minutes or for a longer period of time. This obliges the artist to construct a sound organization that is capable of working well in both of the two cases.
- There is also the possibility to have a linear sound structure, where sound develops in the same way as in a musical compositionMusical compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. In this case, the artist might risk not having the audience staying for the whole length of the sound. - An emergent form of location sensitive mobile and immersive sound work enabled by GPS devices and ubiquitous computing is developing non-linear navigable sound art works soniclandscapes and audionomad.
Relevant artists
- Miguel Álvarez-FernándezMiguel Álvarez-FernándezMiguel Álvarez-Fernández is a sound artist, composer, theorist and curator based between Madrid and Berlin, where he has taught at the Electronic Music Studio of the Technical University of Berlin...
- Laurie Anderson
- Maryanne AmacherMaryanne AmacherMaryanne Amacher was an American composer and installation artist.-Biography:Amacher was born in Kane, Pennsylvania, to an American nurse and a Swiss freight train worker. As the only child, she grew up playing the piano. Amacher left Kane to attend the University of Pennsylvania on a full...
- Nigel AyersNigel AyersNigel Ayers is a multimedia artist born in Tideswell, Derbyshire, England, in 1957.His sound art has included numerous audio releases and live performances through his genre-busting group Nocturnal Emissions....
- Michael Bach BachtischaMichael Bach (cellist, composer, visual artist)Michael Bach is a German cellist, composer, and visual artist, also known as Michael Bach Bachtischa.-Biography:...
- Lawrence ChandlerLawrence ChandlerLawrence Chandler is an American-born musician, composer and sound artist living in London. He studied with La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros, at The Juilliard School and Goldsmiths College. He was a founder member of Bowery Electric and has worked for Philip Glass.-References:...
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
- Bill FontanaBill FontanaBill Fontana is known internationally for his pioneering experiments in sound art.Fontana attended New School for Social Research in New York and studied both music and philosophy. He traveled to Australia, and also stayed in Japan and Germany composing. Fontana began making sound sculptures in 1976...
- Terry FoxTerry Fox (artist)Terry Fox was an American video, conceptual, sound, and performance artist.-Biography:Fox was born in Seattle, Washington. At the age of seventeen, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, later referencing the cycles of illness and wellness in several artworks...
- Bernhard GálBernhard GálBernhard Gál is an Austrian artist, composer and musicologist.-Biography:Bernhard Gál works between the categories, creating music for instruments and electro-acoustic compositions, as well as art installations. Many of his intermedia art projects and sound installations present combinations of...
- Renate Hoffleit
- Joe JonesJoe Jones (Fluxus artist)-Formation:Joe Jones grew up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and received a classical musical education at Hartnett Music School in New York City. In the late 1950s he began a short career as a jazz drummer. In 1960 Jones began to study avant-garde experimental composition first briefly with John Cage and...
- Ryoji IkedaRyoji IkedaRyoji Ikeda is a Japanese sound artist who lives and works in Paris. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing...
- Petri KuljuntaustaPetri KuljuntaustaPetri Kuljuntausta is a composer, musician, sound artist and author of three books on electronic music and sound art. Since 1990's he has belonged to a new generation of composers in Finland interested in experimental and electronic music....
- Alvin LucierAlvin LucierAlvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
- Peter MachajdikPeter MachajdikPeter Machajdík is a contemporary Slovak composer and sound artist. He grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia and lives in Berlin, Germany....
- Christian MarclayChristian MarclayChristian Marclay is a Swiss-American visual artist and composer.Marclay's work explores connections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film...
- Robin MinardRobin Minard- Biography :Minard was born in Montreal, Canada. He began his studies of composition at the University of Ontario, then at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, studying under Gilles Tremblay. He then continued his studies with John Rea at McGill University. He was a member of the...
- Bruce NaumanBruce NaumanBruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
- Max NeuhausMax NeuhausAmerican musician Max Neuhaus was a percussionist and interpreter of contemporary music of the 1960s who moved on to become a pioneer in the field of sound art, a term he rejected but with which he is nonetheless associated...
- Carsten Nicolai
- Andreas Oldörp
- Nam June PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
- Paul PanhuysenPaul PanhuysenPaul Panhuysen is a Dutch composer, visual and sound artist. He founded and directed Het Apollohuis, an art space that functioned during the 80's and 90's having artists doing sound installations, sound sculptures, and concerts about free improvisation, experimental music, and electronic...
- Liz PhillipsLiz PhillipsLiz Phillips is an American artist specializing in sound art and interactive art. She was one of the first artists to make interactive sound sculpture. Her installations create sounds in relation to live forms. Phillips has exhibited her work at numerous art museums, alternative spaces, festivals,...
- Don RitterDon RitterDon Ritter is a Canadian installation artist and writer living in Berlin, Germany. He has been active in the field of new media art since the mid-1980s. His work consists primarily of large interactive video and sound installations that audiences control through their body position, body movement...
- Manuel Rocha IturbideManuel Rocha IturbideManuel Rocha Iturbide is a Mexican composer and sound artist.-Biography:Manuel Rocha Iturbide was born in 1963 in Mexico City, he started musical studies when he was 13 years old. In 1983, after studying musical pedagogy in Lyon France for one year, he decided to start a career as composer at the...
- Stan ShaffAudium (theater)Audium is a unique sound art phenomenon that has been presented weekly in San Francisco since 1967. Audium is a creation of composer Stan Shaff that is performed on original equipment designed by Doug McEachern...
- TakisTakisVassilakis Takis is an artist living in Greece. Adopted by France, his works can be found in many public locations in and around Paris.-Life and work:1940–1950...
- Jeff TalmanJeff TalmanJeff Talman is a contemporary artist who works in a variety of media including sound, light, video installation, sculpture, graphics and photography.-Career:...
- Jean TinguelyJean TinguelyJean Tinguely was a Swiss painter and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptural machines or kinetic art, in the Dada tradition; known officially as metamechanics...
- TrimpinTrimpinTrimpin is a Seattle, Washington-based kinetic sculptor, sound artist, musician, and composer, most of whose pieces integrate both sculpture and music in some way, and many of which make use of computers to play these instruments...
- Peter VogelPeter VogelPeter Vogel may refer to:* Peter Vogel , German actor, appeared in Holocaust miniseries* Peter Vogel , German footballer* Peter Vogel , Polish murderer and later banker...
- Wolf VostellWolf VostellWolf Vostell was a German painter, sculptor, noise music maker and Happening artist of the second half of the 20th century. Wolf Vostell is considered one of the pioneers of video art, environment-sculptures, Happenings and the Fluxus Movement...
- Nancy Wilson-Pajic
- La Monte YoungLa Monte YoungLa Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
- WAZAWAZA (art collective)WAZA is an emerging artist collective founded by Hu Ge in 2002, based in Wuhan, China. This collective is a platform for experimental new media art...
See also
- Poème électroniquePoème électroniquePoème électronique is a piece of electronic music by composer Edgard Varèse, written for the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. The Philips corporation commissioned Le Corbusier to design the pavilion, which was intended as a showcase of their engineering progress...
(by Edgard VarèseEdgard VarèseEdgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
) - Installation artInstallation artInstallation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
- Land artLand artLand art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
- Interactive artInteractive artInteractive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer or visitor "walk" in, on, and around them; Some others ask the artist to become part of the artwork.Works of...
- AudiumAudium (theater)Audium is a unique sound art phenomenon that has been presented weekly in San Francisco since 1967. Audium is a creation of composer Stan Shaff that is performed on original equipment designed by Doug McEachern...
A Theatre of Sound-Sculptured Space