Sound art

Sound art ( audio or art, borrowed from English, sound art ) refers to the intermedia art forms in which sounds with other arts and media merge into a work of art. The sound art can be assigned due to the different interaction between sound, space, time, motion and shape artistic works such as sound sculptures, sound installations, music performances as well as works of media art with radio drama, feature, video, or computer networks.

While the German term sound generally the result of musical composition is connected (see sound composition ), the English term sound also includes the (everyday) with a noise, which in the sound art are of particular importance. (Everyday) noise will find an equally frequent use as instrumental sounds or sounds generated.

Emergence of sound art

The formulated by Lessing in the 18th century material-based separation of the types of art space and time has been challenged by such musicians as artists alike and led to the so-called musical setting of the arts. In the 19th century the symphony served as a model for all types of art because of their intangible form. Because of the direct relationship between harmonies and numerical proportions of the music were awarded general and transferable composition laws. The structure formation of music was expressed in the form of abstract painting on the visual arts. The Russian constructivist Wassily Kandinsky presented the 5th Symphony of Beethoven in lines and dots represents the usually static and visual fine arts is complemented by the use of sounds at a time and sometimes dynamic component. Spatial and visual aspects were Conversely, the music picked up that appeal to ideas of a multi-sensory art as it has followed Richard Wagner, oriented.

As early as 1907 Ferruccio Busoni had published his treatise Draft New Aesthetic of Music with consideration of new musical scales, sixth-tone systems and the first inklings of the possibilities electrically generated sounds. Luigi Russolo futuristic painter published manifesto L' arte dei 1913 rumori ( The art of noise ), in which he addressed the noise of machines and engines in the big cities. It sounds were for him not only to the composition of music, but also as an independent material and means of expression, to make the application of technology in the world felt. He also developed various tools for noise generation, which included intonarumori (noise generators) as a compilation of different boxes with horns, the specially treated diaphragm to generate different sounds. Edgar Varèse called in 1916 in the New York Morning Telegraph not understand the emancipation of sound as a reduction of music, but " to expand our musical alphabet " as longing. The sound emancipated and was next to the sound, the sound and the silence of a co-equal composition material.

At the same time took the Dadaists lasting impact on the music and the later emergence of sound art. Dadaism, which was regarded as anti-art, rejected the conventional form-bound ideas of art and was based on the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk. They experimented with different artistic media, regardless of their genre boundaries and in direct connection with everyday life. In addition to improvisation chance played with most artists a major role, such as in the composition " Erratum Musical" by Marcel Duchamp.

1948 coined Pierre Schaeffer, co-founder of musique concrète, the term " sound object ". This he named (everyday) sounds from the French broadcasting archives, which he collected, edited and irrespective of their origin source recomposed in sound collages. In addition to the potential by recording and transmission technology of the sound separation of cause Schaeffer showed that the original only the time subjugated sound has static and material-specific properties such as density, depth or length and similar other materials can be manipulated.

The possibilities of audio technology changes dealing with sounds and meant that the interpreter could be replaced by transmission or playback technology. These developments influenced the contemporary music from 1960. Particular, the ideas of the American composer John Cage, chance, silence and sound in his compositions integrated, provided essential foundations for the emergence of sound art. Representatives of minimalist music such as La Monte Young 's concept of the Dream House dominated the newly emerging art form that established itself between the popular art and music concept.

Forms of sound art

Sound art is recognized as an art form within the visual arts. In order to give their true meaning of liberation and emancipation of the sound of the noise, one must follow the thesis of Jacques Attali, that "the world is understood not read, but hearing ", as he in his essay bruits, a political economy of music, representing from 1977.

Sound sculptures

The term sound sculpture generally describes items that produce sound or noise. In many cases, the sculptures will be moved mechanically or electrically or respond to electronic impulses. In 1967, designed by Stephan von Huene Tapdancer is a sound sculpture that resembles a jukebox, but produces sounds without external operation. The sculpture consists of two shortened legs, which move through a pneumatic drive and can touch right toes. The noises coming out of wooden blocks inside the box.

In contrast to the sound installation the sound sculpture is not necessarily in direct relation to space. Alvin Lucier uses in his sound sculpture Music on a Long Thin Wire 1977 the space as a resonance chamber. A taut wire is excited uniformly in space electromagnetically, the resulting variable vibration is made ​​audible via pickup at the two ends of the wire. The sound sculpture can not be clearly distinguished from the sound installation. Some artists speak of sound sculptures, although the works can miss an object. The sound itself is used in this context as a sculptural material or the installation will be understood from an expanded notion of sculpture out.

Sound installation

The sound installation is a location and situation specific work, in which the sound is the characterizing feature. This can transmit data carriers, on the radio or radio waves or generated locally. In contrast to the concert installation or instrumental music, the space itself is involved in the work of art. Max Neuhaus describes the sound installation as an infinite performance without musical climax. With the Drive-in Music he realized in 1967 one of the first electro-acoustic installations in public spaces. He installed on a 600 meter track in Buffalo, New York, 20 radio -wave transmitter in the trees with different sounds that were generated under environmental influences. The driver received over a certain frequency, depending on speed, direction, time of day and weather conditions, different sound developments. In addition to the aspects of space and time, motion and visualization are involved in the conceptual sound installation. The structuring of the sounds takes place in less time, but as the material in a closed or open space. The tone generator can be placed as objects for the recipient or visible as opposed to invisible sound sculpture. Christina Kubisch connects example, in many of her works sound and light to audiovisual images in which the origin of the sounds remains hidden. Their approach to grant the recipient proper time, is another typical feature of the sound installation. The recipient, who can freely move around the room and determines the duration of his stay, thereby itself becomes the artist.

Sound performance

The sound performance is one of the vielgestaltigsten forms of sound art, because it can involve almost all media and forms of artistic expression such as painting, film, video, photography, electronic media, language and text. At the same time, the sound performance similarities to the Happening, Environment, or actions of the Fluxus artists and is considered a forerunner of the sound installation. Their characteristic as opposed to performance art is the use of music, the visualization of sounds or picking up musikkompositorischer principles. The focus is on performance in the foreground and not, as at a concert, the resulting piece of music. Another aspect of the sound performance is the confrontation with one's own body and the identity of the performer. Electro Clips by Christian Möller and the dancer Stephen Galloway is simultaneously a performance and an installation dar. light and sound are affected by movements. Spread across the stage floor photo sensors that trigger sounds, allowing the dancers to play the installation as a keyboard. In other sound performances are experimenting with the combination of technology and body. The Dutch performance artist Harry de Wit carried in his sound performance Kostrument a prepared with contact microphones jumpsuit made ​​of rubber, which transferred the sounds on speaker boxes in the performance space. These were arranged in the room that the recipient had the impression of being himself in the body de Wit.

Training

In Germany there is the possibility to specialize in the context of an art or music studies on sound art. The following degree programs there are:

• Master sound art composition (Master of Music), Peter Kiefer, Mainz School of Music at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
• As part of the class plastic / Audiovisual Art, Christina Kubisch, HBK Saar, Saarbrücken.
• In the course of studying fine arts in the Ulrich Eller class, College of Fine Arts in Braunschweig.
• As part of the study program Media Art / Media Design at the Bauhaus -Universität Weimar
• Master's program in Sound Studies (Master of Arts), Central Institute for Continuing Education at University of the Arts Berlin.
• As part of the study program Media Arts at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe.

In Switzerland there are the courses:

• Bachelor Music and Media Art, University of the Arts Berne
• Master Contemporary Art Practice, University of the Arts Berne