Kathleen and Axel,
Glad you brought up the Cardiff piece. It brings up one of the biggest
challenges in the installation of sound works: scale. This seems to operate
on several axes: dimension, volume (in the phonic sense) placement, and
acoustics.
Like any sculpture, sonic work relies on the relationship between the form
and the size of the audience, as well as the work's interface with the space
it occupies. Some work well in headphones, others need high volume, others
need large acoustical spaces, etc. This can present a problem when an
exhibition space can't accommodate the dimensions for either acoustics or
volume.
The PS1 installation of the motet was a great example of how a sound work
can be exhibited in an intimate, but acoustically appropriate space. Also,
the human-scale placement was crucial to the piece, so trying to "fill" a
bigger space could have destroyed it.
Kathleen raises an interesting topic of what we see when experiencing a
sound work. I've heard varied responses from artists as to the context they
prefer. This year's Whitney Biennial features sound installations in a
near-black room, which was elegant and appropriate. But how much room is
there for variation, and how close are we to the black box becoming the
default presentation mode for sound art?
best
Kevin
_____________________________
Kevin McHugh
Associate Curator
Creative Time
307 Seventh Avenue #1904
New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212-206-6674 x203
www.creativetime.org
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