Updating the History of Sound Art Additions, Clarifications, More Questions
B e r n ha r d G á l
The author takes a close look at the origins of the terms sound art T During the 1960s and early 1970s, numerous terms sur- and sound installation, identifying additional historical sources and AC faced, describing new concepts of sound creation and pre-
TR addressing misconceptions about their origins. The author then focuses sentation, but also addressing new listening perspectives and on two early sound works by Max Neuhaus, a sound art pioneer who is ABS frequently said to be the creator of the first sound installation. perceptual modes. These included acoustic environment, au- dio art, continuous pieces, continuous walkthrough sound environment, eternal music, exposition of music, sound art, “What is history, but a fable agreed upon?” a seemingly bit- sound installation, sound sculpture and sound-space con- ter Napoleon Bonaparte once famously remarked, exiled to tinuum [2]. At present, “sound art” appears to be the most the remote island of Saint Helena. In the course of an on- established term—perhaps simply because it is the least going PhD project about sound installation art, I have fre- meaningful and thus most adaptable and agreeable of the quently come across factual inaccuracies about the subject many terms out there. While I and many fellow artists and that are nevertheless largely treated as undisputable facts. researchers share misgivings about the ubiquitous appropria- This includes biographical details and historical facts about tion of the term [3], its widespread acceptance has become specific artworks, but also extends to the origins of the now- fact. established terminology itself. In this article, I focus on the The terminological rise of “sound art” to popularity around emergence of the terms sound art and sound installation, and the turn of this century can be confirmed by a quantitative I discuss Drive In Music and Fan Music, two early works by search in the New York Times archives [4]. No mention of Max Neuhaus, a pioneering sound artist who often is credited “sound art” is found from 1940 until the end of 1960s; three as the creator of the “first sound installation ever.” entries appear in the 1970s; and six and ten entries occur in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. In contrast, the first de- “Sound Art” cade of the new millennium reveals 65 mentions, and from It has only been in the last one-and-a-half decades, since the 2010–2016 there are 119 hits. This increase may be attribut- early 2000s, that art-related sound practices have emerged able in part to the overuse of the term, e.g. a 2014 New York from relative obscurity into mainstream art discourse. Ex- Times article even attributed the label “sound art” to Brazil- hibitions at prestigious visual arts institutions—such as the ian songwriter Caetano Veloso. Regarding the origins of the Hayward Gallery in London and P.S.1 and the Whitney Mu- term, many recent publications—including Alan Licht’s book seum of American Art in New York City—helped to increase Sound Art—link its emergence to the exhibition SOUND/ media coverage and public awareness, thus playing a major ART, curated by composer William Hellermann and pro- role in accelerating a “genre-building process,” subsuming a duced by the SoundArt Foundation, which was founded by diverse smorgasbord of sound-related activities into what is Hellermann in 1982. According to the exhibition catalog, the now commonly referred to as “sound art.” The correspond- show was presented at the Sculpture Center in New York City ing lack of clarity regarding definitions and the attributed in May 1984 and at the BACA’S DCC Gallery in Brooklyn in content has been thoroughly discussed among artists and June 1984. But since the catalog was published in 1983, ahead researchers in English and German discourses [1]. of the exhibition, the year of the exhibition is often assumed to be 1983 [5].
Bernhard Gál (artist, composer and musicologist), Vienna, Austria. I was able to trace the origins of “sound art” a little further Email:
78 LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL, Vol. 27, pp. 78–81, 2017 doi:10.1162/LMJ_a_01023 ©2017 ISAST
Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LMJ_a_01023 by guest on 27 September 2021 the exhibition Soundworks II, presented at Franklin Furnace ally found that he had used it in a 1974 project proposal [19] in New York City in 1981 [7]. Two years earlier, in their review concerning the second presentation of Drive In Music at the of the Austrian exhibition and symposium Audio Scene ’79, Artpark in Lewiston, NY, a mere 24 miles north of the origi- media art pioneers Hank Bull and Robert Adrian employ the nal installation site in Buffalo. Both Johnson’s article and the same term [8]. More significantly, Sound Art is the title of a 1974 proposal support Neuhaus’s claim of having invented small exhibition presented at the Museum of Modern Art in the term in the early 1970s [20]. New York City from 25 June to 5 August 1979. Sound Art was As with “sound art,” a search in the New York Times ar- Barbara London’s first curatorial effort for MoMA, and it fea- chives reveals a sudden increase in the usage of “sound in- tured electroacoustic works by Maggie Payne, Julia Heyward stallation” around the beginning of the new century. After and Connie Beckley, which were presented sequentially for 29 entries during the 1990s, usage rises to 164 hits during two weeks each in the Museum’s Auditorium Gallery. “Sound the first decade of the 21st century, and to 222 hits from art pieces are more closely allied to art than to music, and 2010–2016. Furthermore, another variation—“sound-art in- are usually presented in the museum, gallery, or alternative stallation”—is increasingly found in the Times archives; this space,” London states in the press release [9]. variation may be a terminological spin-off of the “sound art”- Finally, I would like to point to the Something Else Year- hype of recent years. book 1974, a collection of “intermedia artworks and texts designed for publication” and the final publication of Dick “If You Remember It, You Probably Weren’t Higgins’s Something Else Press [10]. The collection is edited There”—Early Sound Installations by Max by Jan Herman, and the book cover shows a sequence of Neuhaus terms hinting at the book’s content, with “sound art” at the Max Neuhaus’s work Drive In Music—or Drive-in Music No. top of the list. On my inquiry, Herman confirmed that he 1, as it was titled originally—has been widely said to be the included the term alluding to the contributions of Bernard first sound installation “ever,” a superlative its creator claimed Heidsieck and Henri Chopin, whose work today may be best for himself in retrospect, fifteen years after the work’s pre- described as concrete poetry or sound poetry [11]. This refer- miere in late October 1967 [21]. It is imperative to point out ence also suggests a connection with “text-sound-art,” better that numerous other artists—Maryanne Amacher, Nam June known as “text-sound-composition,” synonymous terms de- Paik, Yasunao Tone and La Monte Young, to name a few— scribing the “intermedium” of poetry and composition that share the honor of contributing to the emerging idea of “in- emerged from the creative humus of the Stockholm-based stalled sound,” i.e. continuous sound presentations offering art organization Fylkingen during the late 1960s [12]. Given specific spatial and perceptual qualities. the unclear status of source materials, further and possibly Very little information is available about Drive In Music. earlier usages of the term “sound art” may be assumed. Aside from press announcements, a diagram of the installa- tion site and drawings by Neuhaus, no documentation on the “Sound Installation” installation is to be found. Thus, many details about the actual The history of the term sound installation is more straight- presentation and reception remain obscure. Various contra- forward. Straebel points out that the term can be traced back dictory statements by Neuhaus himself add to the “mystery.” to the late 1920s [13]. However, the early sources he refers to In conjunction with the creation of his work Water Whistle, concern technical aspects such as the installation of loud- a series of swimming pool “concerts” presented from 1971 speaker systems in movie theaters at the end of the silent film to 1974, he declared: “I had not yet established the idea that era [14]. Concerning sound in the arts, the term is frequently a sound work could be done in the form of an installation” attributed to Max Neuhaus [15], who also claimed its inven- [22]. In a 1999 interview, Neuhaus describes Walkthrough, tion for himself in a 1982 interview: “I called them sound another early sound installation that was presented from 1973 installations because the pieces were made from sound, and to 1976, as “his first permanent sound work” [23]. Neuhaus I was using the word installation in the visual arts context for makes a similar comment about Walkthrough in 1982: “The a work that is made for a specific place” [16]. Only a few years first long-term work was set up in New York City in 1973” later, around 1985, Neuhaus would cease to use the term for [24]. Yet in the very same 1982 interview Neuhaus describes his own work, using instead “place works” at first and then Drive In Music as his first sound installation. later the all-encompassing “sound works” [17]. It also seems odd that there is no evidence of Neuhaus I found the earliest mention of the term “sound installa- referring to Drive In Music before 1982; quite on the contrary, tion” in an article by Tom Johnson reviewing Neuhaus’s 1973 both Neuhaus texts from 1982 are published in 1994, another work Walkthrough [18]. “It’s an electronic sound installation 12 years later. Speculations are amplified by the memories of that runs automatically,” explains Johnson, chatting with a the engineer Frederick Reinagel, who worked with Neuhaus passerby on site; his usage suggests that technical connota- on the second presentation of Drive In Music at the Artpark tions of the term were still prevalent. In the same article, Neu- in Lewiston in 1975: “Although the idea was quite ingenious, it haus is quoted calling his work a “sound discoverable” that had major technical challenges in the functional engineering he installed at the Jay Street–Borough Hall subway station. implementation. . . . It was not operational on its scheduled Evidence of Neuhaus using the term “sound installation” opening day, and to my knowledge, was never completed” himself prior to 1982 at first seemed scarce, but I eventu- [25]. Did Neuhaus experience similar difficulties in 1967? The
Gál, Updating the History of Sound Art 79
Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LMJ_a_01023 by guest on 27 September 2021 composer David Rosenboom recalls that he listened to the York’s Bowery, 9–11 August 1967, predating Drive In Music piece together with Neuhaus during the preparation time by two and a half months. It featured photovoltaic cells po- [26]. At the suggestion of Neuhaus expert Cory Mathews, I sitioned behind rotating fan blades and connected to loud- contacted Jan Williams, a percussionist, composer and friend speakers. The generated sounds would vary with changing of Neuhaus, who confirmed that the 1967 sound installa- light conditions, appearing in the morning and disappearing tion was in fact completed and operational [27]. No further or falling into a static state at sunset. Visitors could wander doubts, for now. freely across the roofs, choosing their individual listening Drive-in Music No. 1 was conceived as a contribution to positions. As Neuhaus put it, “I think I called it a concert, Maryanne Amacher’s experimental art event In City, which but it was an installation. It went on for three days; it arrived took place throughout the city of Buffalo 20–23 October 1967. each day when the sun arrived and disappeared when the sun Besides Neuhaus’s work, other continuous sound works were went down. People came and went when they wanted; there presented, including a “continuous walkthrough sound en- was no specific time when it started or ended” [31]. vironment” by Amacher and a “sounding sculpture” by Amy For many years, Fan Music had been misdated by a year, Hamouda [28]. Being the closing event of the “art weekend,” with publications by Neuhaus indicating it took place in 1968 Drive In Music was inaugurated on 23 October 1967, con- instead of 1967, thus giving the impression that Drive In Music ceived as a long-term presentation with a duration of “up predated it [32]. According to Mathews, who deserves credit to six months” [29], depending on battery life [30]. Twenty for discovering this inaccuracy, Neuhaus was happy to find sets of AM radio transmitters and “wave-form generators” that another sound installation predated Drive In Music [33]. were located on poles or in trees along a half-mile stretch of It remains unclear whether the incorrect date was simply a Lincoln Parkway, to be picked up by car radios when driving lapse of memory or whether it was the “strategic art move” of though the designated area. Depending on one’s speed, loca- an art professional seeking to “accentuate” the historic posi- tion and direction, “drive throughers” could create their own tion of the long-term presentation Drive In Music in retro- version of the piece. The transmitted sounds were also altered spect—or whether it was a combination of both. In any case, by changes in weather conditions, such as light, temperature two details may be less well known: (a) Max Neuhaus lived and humidity. at 137 Bowery—one of the houses whose rooftops were used Although Neuhaus called Drive In Music his first sound for the installation—during this time [34], and (b) 9 August installation, in my understanding the presentation of sound 1967 was his 28th birthday. It’s possible that the inauguration through a car radio system neglects central characteristics of Fan Music was part of a rooftop birthday party. Although, of sound installation practice, such as a specific connection once again, hardly any documentation exists for this instal- with the surrounding audio-architectural space and the in- lation, its presentation has been confirmed by Tom Bissinger, dividual choice of listening positions, since the experience one of the visitors, who shared his memories of it in his auto- inside a car cabin is limited by the fixed locations of both re- biography [35]. Bissinger mentions that on the same occasion cipients and loudspeakers. However, in questioning whether he met Mitzo Naslednikov, who was just about to end her Drive In Music technically qualifies as a sound installation, I romance with Neuhaus and would become Bissinger’s lover do not mean to question the merits of Max Neuhaus’s work soon after. Did Neuhaus suppress his memories ofFan Music, or ideas. and eventually confuse the years, because of an unpleasant Finally, I would like to take a closer look at Fan Music, an- personal experience during the event? It remains to be seen other early work by Neuhaus, representing yet another sound whether future research will unveil further evidence. To be installation created before “the first sound installation ever.” continued. . . . Fan Music was presented on four adjacent rooftops in New
Acknowledgments 4 While the New York Times certainly provides a selective view, espe- cially concerning the rare inclusion of experimental art practices, it The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable input of Johannes Berg- serves to illustrate tendencies within mainstream art discourse. mark, John Bewley (University at Buffalo), Seth Cluett, Nicolas Collins, Phil Corner, Stefanie Donné, Wolfgang Gratzer, William Hellermann, 5 Vito Acconci et al., SOUND/ART (New York: The SoundArt Founda- Jan Herman, Cory Mathews, Fred Reinagel, David Rosenboom, Volker tion, 1983). Straebel and Jan Williams. 6 Peter Frank, “Soundings at SUNY,” Art Journal 42, No. 1, 58–62 (1982). References and Notes 7 Franklin Furnace, “Soundworks II Opens April 29, 1981, at Franklin 1 Douglas Kahn, “Sound Art, Art, Music,” Iowa Review Web 8, No. 1 Furnace,” Press Release: 80 Gál, Updating the History of Sound Art Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LMJ_a_01023 by guest on 27 September 2021 .org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/5751/releases 24 Max Neuhaus, “Lecture at the Siebu Museum Tokyo 1982”: Gál, Updating the History of Sound Art 81 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LMJ_a_01023 by guest on 27 September 2021