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Audio art, also known as sound art and sound sculpture, is a post modernist art form which combines sound and visual art (Audio Art, 2005). Audio art is focused on experimentation, and is often presented in the form of a concert, installation or performance (Audio Art, 2005). The process of creation usually only involves one person, who embraces the roles of composer, designer and performer (Audio Art, 2005).
Creators of audio art come from a myriad of disciplines; ranging from music composition to visual art, architecture, anthropology, engineering and film making (Wikipedia, 2005). Often, audio art is distinguished from traditional music, in order to signal a new listening experience, which is more active and interactive than a conventional piece of music (Wikipedia, 2005). Audio art also frequently distinguishes itself from traditional forms of visual art; such as painting, drawing, photography and video (Wikipedia, 2005).
Because sound art falls between visual and musical realms, artists incorporate materials they desire from either tradition (Panhuysen, 2005). Often, the artist's materials include physical media, sound and environments (Panhuysen, 2005). Most audio artists work with their sound physically, allowing the visceral contact with materials to influence their choices (Panhuysen, 2005). Their work serves to be a dialogue between the creation of physical objects, and the sound generated by those objects (Panhuysen, 2005).
It is not uncommon for audio artists to involve the public in their works, by delegating the initiation of sound or the form of its perception on to the activity of the listener (Emmerson, 2000, p.173). These works remain silent until the sound is triggered by some movement or deliberate operation (Emmerson, 2000, p.173). This encounter dissolves the traditional opposition of art/artist and recipient (Emmerson, 2000, p.173).
Technological advancements, such as such as live electronics, digital technology and home studio recording gave sound exploration its major turn (Emmerson, 2000, p.171). The new accessibility liberated individual works from public conventions and gave experimental sound an enormous boost, commencing in the early 1960s and peaking in the 1980s (Emmerson, 2000, p.171). People from all sorts of backgrounds who never had access to sound recording technologies became interested in working with sound (Emmerson, 2000, p.171). As a result, many audio artists began to choose more intuitive and experimental ways of working than had previously been possible (Emmerson, 2000, p.172). It was under these circumstances that an interest in sound spread widely into various areas of artistic work (Emmerson, 2000, p.172). Artists and musicians began to combine visual and auditive elements into their works, resulting in what is today known as audio art. (Emmerson, 2000, p.172).
"Sound Mapping," by Iain Mott, Marc Razewski and Jim Sosnin, is a participatory work of sound art designed for outdoor environments (Reverberant, 2005). The artists utilise the environment by installing the work using a Global Positioning System (GPS), which tracks movement of individuals through space (Reverberant, 2005). Participants wheel four movement-sensitive, sound producing suitcases to create a composition that spans space as well as time (Reverberant, 2005). The suitcases play music depending on their response to architectural features and the movements of individuals (Reverberant, 2005).
Books
Emmerson, S. (ed.) (2000) Music, Electronic Media and Culture, London: Ashgate Publishing Limited. ISBN 0754601099
Web Documents
Panhuysen, P. (2005) "Aesthetic Issues of Sound Art" An Introductory Discussion, retrieved October 25, 2005 from http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/~kov/soundArt/PaperIntro.html
Audio Art (2005) Audio Art Festival 2005 retrieved October 25, 2005 from http://www.audio.art.pl/
Wikipedia (2005) Sound Art, retrieved October 27, 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_art
Reverberant (2005) retrieved October 27, 2005 http://www.reverberant.com/PP/index.htm
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