Audio Art: Space


'Rolf Langebartels Rolf Langebartels

Lecture for the Audio Art Symposium, Linz, September 1988

In my paper, I want to present and explore the spatial aspects of sound installations from a phenomenological point of view.

In spatial music or sound sculptures, sound sources are arranged in space or are being moved in it, the spatial expansion and mixing of sound is treated artistically: artists create new sound spaces and transform certain spaces into acoustic instruments.

Perception in these places is different from the conventional hearing of music and is not only restricted to listening but also includes movement as an essential aspect. Through movement, the visitor of such sound installations can extract something like his/her very own composition from that space. From the point of view of sculpture, the sculpture having sound as its material is expanding into the dimension of time.

Reference will be made to the changes which the concept of musical composition and the concept of sculptural creation are undergoing.
Berlin, June 1988