Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller working on their exhibit at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Sounds Like Art

Sharks in formaldehyde? Empty boxes on a gallery wall? It sometimes seems as if the modern-day art world has gone mad. How can you suss out new artists that make at least an iota of sense?

Noisy World, an installation piece by Stephen Vitiello.

“We’re so used to thinking of art as visual.”

Here's a tip: Try closing your eyes and opening your ears.

A handful of artists are using sound to blaze a new path in the field of contemporary art. These innovators create aurally stimulating pieces that can be both thought provoking and, given the participatory nature of many, a lot of fun.

Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and Georges Bures Miller are worthy examples - they're the creators of Pandemonium, an exhibit at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary. Cardiff has built her reputation creating audio walks that take participants through specific sites as they listen to amplified recorded sounds, stories, and instructions.

Housed in the literally crumbling two-story confines of a former cellblock, this exhibit makes use of over 100 mechanized drumsticks that bang on pipes, toilets, and bars. Creepy? Yes, but mesmerizing and thought provoking, too.

Stephen Vitiello is another trendsetter whose work has explored the relationship between sound and space. In one past installation, Vitiello displayed speakers that pulse, thanks to inaudible frequencies being sent through them. In another, he put sensors on large metal sculptures by Donald Judd to amplify the sounds made by the vibrations of the surfaces.

Seattle's Western Bridge currently offers the Vitiello installation "Hea," an exhibit based on the beliefs of the Amazon's Yanomami Indian Shamans, who are said to have the ability to predict the future based on specific sounds coming from the jungle. A bird's rustling, for example, might signify an end to the dry season; another sound might portend an upcoming pregnancy.

Visitors can lie on a hammock while experiencing the installation, which uses a multi-channel speaker system to reproduce the sounds of a day in the jungle.

"Like a taste or a smell - think of Proust's famous madeleine - sound can evoke memories," says Vanessa Critchell, a New York curator who's worked with Vitiello. "We're so used to thinking of art as visual, and looking forward at a work. With sound art, you can close your eyes and let something other than the front take over. It gives us a new way of experiencing meaning."

Posted on May 22, 2006