Introduction
The prominence of Germany in the pioneering of sound art and experimental music is detrimental. With artists such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Peter Vogel, Christina Kubisch, and Ulrich Eller. All hailing from Germany.
Germany still to this day is pushing the boundaries of electronic music and also in the terms of constantly creating new ways to create music. For example, Koma Elektronik is a german company that is creating incredible pieces of equipment like the field kit series. Which are built to help with experimentation whether you’re doing early musique concrète style sound or Whitehouse-esque power electronics, it can do most things.
Artworks
In Germany during 1980, a renowned sound art exhibition called ‘Für Augen und Ohren’ – which translates to ‘For Eyes and Ears’ in English, was held. This exhibition was huge, having 74 participating artists and musicians. Playing sound from both deceased and alive musicians at the time. The exhibition had work dating back to the 14th century. An example of that would be this astronomical clock in Strasbourg from 1354. Inside the clock they’re are these automatically operated bells. Here is a video that better shows what I’ve explained. The bells start at the 1:10 mark.
‘Sehen und Horen: Design und Kommunikation (Seeing and Hearing: Design and Communication)‘ was held in colonge in 1974. This a more lesser-known exhibition but an equally important one. This exhibition but an emphasis on the senses of sight and hearing. How they did that was by butting 600 instruments from 16 different countries in a room. I personally find this fascinating, as there are so many different types of instruments from different cultures it is good for people to learn what cultures from other countries.
Hotspots
Strasbourg automatically operated bells
Sehen und Horen: Design und Kommunikation (Seeing and Hearing: Design and Communication
Für Augen und Ohren
Glossary
‘Kommunikation‘ – German for ‘Communication’
‘Objekte‘ – Object
Conclusion/Future Work
In conclusion, this article really shows how detrimental Germany was to the growth of sound art as a whole. With exhibitions like ‘Für Augen und Ohren’ having 74 musicians in one place, having music spanning from modern-day, all the way back to the 14th century. Showing that sound art wasn’t just a modern thing.
And ‘Sehen und Horen: Design und Kommunikation (Seeing and Hearing: Design and Communication ‘. Having over 600 instruments from 16 countries, showing a mixture of sounds and styles from all over the world. I found that in these two exhibitions there is an emphasis on mixing cultures and different time periods together. This perfectly sums up what a lot of sound art represents (to me at least). Mixing cultures and time periods together to create something forward-thinking.
References
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Astronomical Clock Strasbourg Cathedral. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKgZB3P45Kw.
Noy, I. – Touching Sound Art – Curatorial Practises in West Germany