Sound Art Revisited

(Hardback)

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Description

The first edition of Sound Art Revisited (published as Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories) served as a groundbreaking work toward defining this emerging field, and this fully updated volume significantly expands the story to include current research since the books initial release. Viewed through a lens of music and art histories rather than philosophical theory, it covers dozens of artists and works not found in any other book on the subject. Locating sound art's roots across the centuries from spatialized church music to the technological developments of radio, sound recording, and the telephone, the book traces the evolution of sound installations and sound sculpture, the rise of sound art exhibitions and galleries, and finally looks at the critical cross-pollination that marks some of the most important and challenging art with and about sound being produced today.

Reviews

[An] important text for anyone involved in any form of sound studies. * The Wire (joint-reviewed with Acoustic Territories) *
Alan Lichts historical approach successfully unpacks the development of sound art and explains its development through a multitude of examples. He ... brings new clarity into the discussion of sound art and its variations, remembering its roots and perhaps more importantly bringing social perspectives to bear in the narrative for scrutinising conceptual, instrumental and performative aspects of this many-faceted art form. * Organised Sound *
I am pleased to discover at last an English-language, far-reaching survey of sound art rightly focusing on both theoretical and historical aspects while dealing with challenging categorization and placement issues such as situating sound art with regard to the fields of experimental music, fine art, and even sound studies. Sound art is becoming an increasingly important art form; this volume, a highly revised and expanded version of Lichts earlier Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories, is long overdue. * Leigh Landy, Director of Music Technology and Innovation, Institute for Sonic Creativity, De Montfort University, UK *
Sound Art Revisited demonstrates in abundance that sound can--and must--be heard throughout all of the arts. Alan Lichts book is brimming with examples that traverse art, music, and the spaces in between. From seminal figures such as Maryanne Amacher, Max Neuhaus, and Alvin Lucier through to contemporary artists including Christine Sun Kim, Marco Fusinato, and Camille Norment, this book is essential reading for those looking to discover the breadth of practices encompassed by the sonic turn of the arts. * Caleb Kelly, Senior Academic, UNSW Art & Design, Australia *

Author Bio

Alan Licht has lectured widely on sound art and served on faculty in the Music/Sound department at the Bard College Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, USA. He is the editor of Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy (2012). He is a contributing music editor at BOMB magazine and writes frequently for Artforum, Art Review, Parkett, Organised Sound, and WIRE.