Video and Sonic Art

Sonic art, as most terms we look to define in this course, is difficult to define. Brandon LaBelle gives it a try, defining sonic art as "sound art is art about sound; it is art the both uses sound as its medium and addressess sound as its subject of concern" (Brandon LaBelle, in Bol 6, Autumn 2007, pg. 78). This week we looked at two weeks worth of material due to our deeming day. There is a lot of information to cover! I would have to say this is definitely one of my favourite topics of the semester so far.

Sonic art is an artistic expression through sound. In class, we listened to the work of Icelandic band, Sigur Ros. Incredible musicians who use very little (if any) vocals and provide listeners with beautiful sound through instruments and electronics. We listened to the track Untitled 6. It's quite beautiful, almost mind numbing. The power of sonic art is amazing. Sigur Ros does an excellent job with portraying art through sound.

After this class, I thought I would look on the Internet for more examples of sonic art. On Vimeo, I found a great video showcasing video and sonic art. It is from the Blank Gallery in Brighton, England. It shows various installations in the gallery that use sound as a form of artistic expression. In the video, they show an installation of hanging Slinky's. People visiting the gallery are given sticks (similar to drum sticks) to strum along the hanging Slinky's, making for an interesting sound. The link for the "'Sonic Art' Sound Exhibition" video is: http://vimeo.com/4816990.

This video could stand as a multimedia experience through musical performance in the sense that individuals are performing music; both visual and sonic elements in this multimedia experience.

In class, we looked at Lady Gaga's video for her single, "Bad Romance". This is when I really find myself catching on. When we relate course content to popular culture. Lady Gaga is an excellent example of multimedia experience through musical performance. We are appreciating the visual creativity of set, make up and costume design, as well as appreciating the sound of the music being performed by Lady Gaga. Another example of this is Britney Spears. I saw her live show in Brisbane recently. It was more than a performance of music. The show included music, dancing, large video screens, special lighting and effects and ongoing activity. Below are some photos of the event.