It begins by stating an example. In China in 2015, a water spray truck was playing not its usual noise but a remix of western Christmas songs. Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. For the average person, these sounds are just western pop music.
This article begins by speaking about how in china making random noises in large cities doesn’t have a coding system noise is noise. Anyone can be loud in their society as it’s a norm culturally. So how can sound art be appreciated and practised and understood? How likely is it to fit into western-style art spaces, squarely neatly and without any awkwardness?
I argue that it doesn’t have to fit the western idea of its spaces and how they should be displayed. I feel I’ve spoken enough about my thoughts on the white cube art gallery spaces and the uninviting connotations it exhibits in our society but I’m tempted to read more.
The article also speaks about a set of bells that were dug out of a tomb. And the relationship with each other. Perfectly tuned and reacting to each other using the circle of fifths. The article goes on to speak about the relationship between them being presented outside of a gallery space and whether it matters in sound arts that it’s not ‘sound arts’.
“Does it really matter that it is not shown in a contemporary art space, and not signed by a sound/conceptual artist? Perhaps our concept of what sound art calls for further expansion.”
I agree completely with this quote, I think sound arts as a whole although inspiring can at times hold itself back by attempting to put everything into tiny well labelled boxes and genres/sub-genres. I think being as open as possible to new ideas and possibilities can only do better things for an artform. Gatekeeping and trying to maintain what is, rather than letting it become something in of itself can be negative towards a positive conversation that can occur between artists and their art form.