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Sound installations

7 articles

Sound installations are art installations that incorporate the sound element. These works of audio art utilize sound both for effects and as their medium. It is also not uncommon for sound installations to make use of sound as their core subject. As an inter-media art form, these pieces of art lean more towards installation art than music as a work of art.

Sound installation art goes back to the early works of Luigi Russolo, who came up with noise machines between the early 1910s and early 1930s. Some of the most famous sound installations include Marcel Duchamp’s Erratum Musical (1913), Bill Fontana’s Distant Trains (1984), and Luigi Russolo’s Gran Concerto Futuristico (1917).

Studio Gang - Hive, 2017, 2,700 wound paper tubes, installation view, National Building Museum feat

Jeanne Gang’s massive Hive at the National Building Museum

Installations, Sound installations   4 min read
“Hive” refers to an installation featured during the annual Summer Block Party series hosted by the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It featured an excess of 2500 meshing paper tubes that formed a set of 3 intersected, domed acoustic chambers. Inside the acoustic chambers, visitors could interact with the drum-like tubes and chimes situated [...]

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Carsten-Nicolai-unicolor-2014-DLP-projectors-DMX-LED-lights-projection-screen-mirrors-computer-sound-bench-with-loudspeakers-feat

Carsten Nicolai’s Unicolor throws you off-balance

Installations, Light installations, Sound installations   3 min read
Carsten Nicolai profiles as a prolific artist with works in electronic music, art institutions, and scientific phenomena. In his works, he attempts to challenge human beings’ sensory perceptions by designing installations comprehensible through the ears and eyes. Carsten perceives sound as a sculptural material and relies upon sound waves to develop spectacular and gallant installations. [...]

Carsten Nicolai’s Unicolor throws you off-balance Read

Carsten-Nicolai-syn-chron-2004-lightweight-structure-steel-aluminum-laser-projection-sound-system-rubber-1250-x-800-x-460-cm-installation-view-Neue-Nationalgalerie-Berlin-2005-feat

Carsten Nicolai’s syn chron – A one of a kind masterpiece

Installations, Light installations, Mixed media, Sound installations   3 min read
Artists have an enviable knack for coming up with staggering designs. Carsten Nicolai is no different. In syn chron, he teamed up with his group of architects to design a one-of-a-kind sound, light, and architectural masterpiece. It’s unthinkable how Carsten Nicolai conceptualized the rarely talked of art. Syn Chron stands as one of the unique [...]

Carsten Nicolai’s syn chron – A one of a kind masterpiece Read

Carsten-Nicolai-alpha-pulse-2014-sound-large-scale-led-screens-Hong-Kong-feat

Carsten Nicolai’s light patterns dominates Hong Kong’s skyline

Installations, Light installations, Sound installations   3 min read
Carsten Nicolai has created an impressive audio-visual work in his sterling career as a contemporary artist. His α (alpha) pulse creation stands out from the others for its uniqueness. Through it, he endeavors to illuminate the Hong Kong skyline. The latest creation adds to the impressive list of mindboggling stuff that Nicolai has always churned [...]

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Janet Cardiff’s 40 Part Motet – Reviving a 500 year old masterpiece

Installations, Sound installations   3 min read
Can you imagine the sound effect that will be produced by a whopping 40 loudspeakers placed in an empty room? Now imagine that this room is designed to overlook a garden? This is the Forty Part Motet art marvel, which was created and installed by Janet Cardiff. Made in 2001, the Forty Part Motet is [...]

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