Sound Art
Located in 4 routes
Sound Art uses sound as artistic medium and subject, often in galleries, public spaces, installations, walks, sculpture, architecture, radio, or performance rather than conventional concerts. Its sound can be continuous tones, environmental audio, hidden speakers, resonant objects, electromagnetic fields, voices in space, machine hum, or precisely tuned architectural vibration. The listener’s movement and location often complete the work.
History
Sound Art emerged from postwar experimental composition, Fluxus, minimalism, kinetic sculpture, radio art, acoustic ecology, and conceptual art, especially as galleries began accepting time-based and installation practices. Max Neuhaus’s public works, Alvin Lucier’s resonance pieces, Maryanne Amacher’s psychoacoustic environments, Bill Fontana’s site transmissions, Christina Kubisch’s electromagnetic walks, Ryoji Ikeda’s data installations, Susan Philipsz’s voice works, and Janet Cardiff’s audio walks established multiple models. The style influenced museum practice, public art, experimental radio, ambient installation, field recording, spatial audio, and sound studies.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Tate sound-art glossary
- Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories
- AllMusic
- Discogs