Sound Art v. Music?
What is the difference between sound art and music-beyond the normal differences [what is a normal difference?], what actually differentiates ‘sound art’ from ‘music’, or rather what is ‘sound art’ and what is ‘music’? Difference in terminology implies at least to myself that in some way there must be some difference in content, and I suppose that there is a huge difference, but I am not to sure, and this is why I am stuck. It’s not a pedestrian approach but to me the terms are institutional- but which institutions? When I listen to Pierre Schaeffer whilst not being ‘conventional music’ along the lines of Bach or even the Rolling Stones, it still has musical qualities, and I am still listening to it under the belief that it is music. But about people like Steve Roden, an artist who creates sound based installation art, but you can still buy his cd. Is it sound art in the gallery, and music on the cd? So I can buy the cd and listen to it on the bus and it counts as some form of ‘experimental music’ but if I listened to it within the confines of a gallery it’s sound art. The confusion is probably my own, although I doubt it.
I created a sound thing [I am not to sure what else to call them at the moment, so I will call them sound things] and I was asked, is it sound art or is it music, because loose definitions as such give the listener an angle from which to approach. I honestly don’t know because it was created with the intention to be listened to on headphones, but in a way its no less ‘art’ then when I make a video or an image, its boundaries are more elastic, and part of what makes sound appealing to me is that it can have a ‘slippery, malleable texture’ if you will. I suppose that’s awkward way of putting it-sound has the ability to be inhabit and occupy spaces in a way which is similar to light, yet it emotionally sympathetic in different way than light. That aside what is the difference between sound art and music? If my intentions are no different regardless of medium, to make work that deals with creating an ineffable experience/ and or enhancing one, does it matter to differentiate between sound art and music?
I don’t know, and I am getting frustrated.
What is the difference between sound art and music-beyond the normal differences [what is a normal difference?], what actually differentiates ‘sound art’ from ‘music’, or rather what is ‘sound art’ and what is ‘music’? Difference in terminology implies at least to myself that in some way there must be some difference in content, and I suppose that there is a huge difference, but I am not to sure, and this is why I am stuck. It’s not a pedestrian approach but to me the terms are institutional- but which institutions? When I listen to Pierre Schaeffer whilst not being ‘conventional music’ along the lines of Bach or even the Rolling Stones, it still has musical qualities, and I am still listening to it under the belief that it is music. But about people like Steve Roden, an artist who creates sound based installation art, but you can still buy his cd. Is it sound art in the gallery, and music on the cd? So I can buy the cd and listen to it on the bus and it counts as some form of ‘experimental music’ but if I listened to it within the confines of a gallery it’s sound art. The confusion is probably my own, although I doubt it.
I created a sound thing [I am not to sure what else to call them at the moment, so I will call them sound things] and I was asked, is it sound art or is it music, because loose definitions as such give the listener an angle from which to approach. I honestly don’t know because it was created with the intention to be listened to on headphones, but in a way its no less ‘art’ then when I make a video or an image, its boundaries are more elastic, and part of what makes sound appealing to me is that it can have a ‘slippery, malleable texture’ if you will. I suppose that’s awkward way of putting it-sound has the ability to be inhabit and occupy spaces in a way which is similar to light, yet it emotionally sympathetic in different way than light. That aside what is the difference between sound art and music? If my intentions are no different regardless of medium, to make work that deals with creating an ineffable experience/ and or enhancing one, does it matter to differentiate between sound art and music?
I don’t know, and I am getting frustrated.
posted by Alexandra P. Spaulding at 3:38 AM
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