Write an essay at least 500 words long (but not more than 700 words) on the following topic, as specified:
Make an argument for or against “sound art” being designated as a separate category in the arts. Say why or why not you think that “sound art” should be recognized as separate from music and/or visual art and/or multimedia. CHOOSE ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT! (If you don’t think there should be categories in the arts at all, this is considered to be an argument against “sound art” as a separate category.)
Your argument must be supported by at least three specific pieces by three different artists FROM THE ATTACHED LIST to justify your argument. Do NOT use more than one work by an individual artist! You should write a paragraph about each piece, describing the work and how the characteristics of the work support your argument.
You may NOT mention any examples that are not included on the the list at the end of this document. You ARE allowed to discuss more than three examples from the list, but each work must be by a different artist and you must thoroughly discuss each one
PLEASE NOTE: You must discuss at least 3 SPECIFIC WORKS. Do not talk about artists’ lives or careers or general philosophies unless it directly relates to a specific work.
You should give SEVERAL supporting reasons for your argument. Do not repeat the same reason over and over.
The paper should express your own thoughts and ideas. You should NOT use quotes from other sources.
This is NOT a paper about whether or not you like the examples we have listened to or viewed in the class. Do NOT include statements such as, i.e. “I did not like Alvin Lucier’s “I am sitting in a room”” or “I really loved the Deep Listening exercise.” However, I DO want your opinion on whether sound art should or should not be a separate category (or sub-category) from other art forms (music, multimedia, etc.). If you don’t have an opinion on this, you still have to pick one side of the argument and defend it (in other words, you have to fake it).
If you’re arguing that a category called “sound art” should exist, you might think about these questions when assessing works:
– What are some characteristics of music?
– What are some characteristics of visual art?
– Does this artwork have these characteristics? If it does have these but you don’t feel it falls squarely into the visual arts or music categories, what other characteristics make it require a new category?
– Some characteristics of traditional western music:
Melody (sequential notes typically drawn from 8 note scales that span an octave)
Harmony (notes that sound good when played together)
Rhythm (a steady pulse and rhythmic patterns)
Performative (can be presented as a concert)
Sung and/or performed on traditional musical instruments (violin, guitar, piano, etc.)
Pleasing timbre (sound quality of instrument or voice)
Temporal (it happens over time and it has a start and ending)
Visual component is not part of the artwork – intent of work is to be HEARD
– Some characteristics of traditional western visual art such as painting and sculpture (not 20th century forms):
Line (delineation of space in color or black and white)
Color (hue, intensity, value)
Shape/form (physical visual form)
Visual texture (surface quality of materials)
Value (lightness or darkness)
Visual space (area between, around, above, below, or contained within objects)
Not performative (presented in gallery or museum)
Not experienced temporally (not including time-based art in 20th century such as video)
Aural (listening) component is not part of the artwork – intent of work is to be SEEN.
You don’t necessarily need to write your paper using these ideas (it’s not a requirement), but some of you might find it helpful.
If you choose to defend sound art as a separate category, YOU MUST WRITE A CONCISE DEFINITION OF SOUND ART and show how your examples illustrate this definition. But your definition of sound art should not be so general that almost anything could fit into the category! Include as many specific parameters as possible. Do NOT argue that a work is sound art because the artist intended it as sound art. That doesn’t tell us anything about the definition of sound art and/or whether it should be a category. This is about your opinion of the category, not artists’, curators’ or theorists’ categorizations.
If you do not think sound art is a separate category, then obviously you don’t need to define it — rather you need to show how the works fit into other categories. If you don’t think there should be categories in the arts at all, then you need to talk about how the examples you choose embody this idea and the utopian world without artistic categories that you envision.
What do I mean by a “separate category”? Here are a few situations you can think about:
— In Art College, we have different departments — art history, film, illustration, graphic design, etc. We don’t have a “sound art” department. Why not?
— It is uncommon to find a “sound installation” or “sound sculpture” course taught in a college music program in the United States. Why is this the case?
— Performance works have often been excluded from “sound art” exhibitions in museums and galleries. What does this mean?
If you choose to argue that sound art is a separate category you might want to think about how it fits into the bigger picture, such as:
— Is sound art a subcategory of visual art?
— Is sound art a subcategory of music?
— Is music a subcategory of sound art?
Before writing your paper, make an outline. For instance…
I. Your stance. (If you are arguing that sound art should be a category, then you MUST clearly define sound art in your stance!)
II. Example 1
a) first reason it supports your stance
b) second reason it supports your stance.
etc. (can give more reasons)
III. Example 2
a) first reason it supports your stance
b) second reason it supports your stance.
etc. (can give more reasons)
IV. Example 3
a) first reason it supports your stance
b) second reason it supports your stance.
etc. (can give more reasons)
(Still need more text to reach 500 words? Use more examples from the list!!!!)
NOTE: DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH UNTIL YOU HAVE 500 WORDS OF TEXT AS SPECIFIED. A summary paragraph reviewing your previous ideas is not required, but if you write one, you MUST reach 500 words of substantive text before you write it.
Required Format:
– Include only your name and the title of the paper on the first two lines at the top of the first page. You should NOT use more than two lines for the introductory information. Example:
Why Sound Art Should Not Be Recognized as a Movement
by Sally Student
– Typeface must be Times New Roman, 12 Point.
– Margins must be 1 inch top/bottom/left/right
– Use double-spacing.
– Do not insert extra space between paragraphs.
– Indent at the beginning of each paragraph.
– Papers must be at least 500 words long but not more than 700 words.
– Use a spelling and grammar check on your paper.
Grading criteria:
– Shows understanding of the assigned topic. Contact me if you need clarification.
– First sentence of paper clearly states the stance you will argue.
– Expresses your own original thought about the subject. Do NOT reference other sources.
– Uses at least three examples of works by three different artists from the list accompanying this document to illustrate your argument. You can use more than three examples if you wish, but each example must include information that supports your argument.
– Contains at least one paragraph about each work discussed. Highlight characteristics of the work that support your argument.
– Makes a strong argument supporting your stance, including detailed definitions of any categories you discuss (sound art, music, visual art, multimedia, etc.) and several reasons that each work does or does not fit the specified categories.
– Does NOT include discussion of ANY works other than those on the list accompanying this document. (Do not discuss artists you wrote about in your Research Paper, works we discussed in class that are not on the list, or works that we did not cover in this class.)
– Does NOT include quotes from any source! This is an essay.
– Does not include irrelevant background information as filler. You SHOULD briefly describe the piece, but tie description to aspects of the piece that support your argument.
– Is not excessively redundant. Your final paragraph should NOT be a repeat of what you have already said in the paper (unless you have already reached 500 words of required text before this).
– Follows formatting guidelines.
– At least 500 words long (not including a “summary” paragraph at the end). I will deduct one point for every word less than 500 words of substantive text. Use a word counter. Write about an additional piece from the list if you don’t have enough text.
– Not more than 700 words long. Edit your paper if it is over this word count.
– No significant errors in spelling or grammar.
LIST OF WORKS FOR FINAL PAPERS
(do NOT use more than one work by an individual artist!)
Use at least three examples ON THIS LIST by three different artists for your paper:
From Lecture 7, Nam June Paik:
Nam June Paik: Random Access
From Lecture 8, Sound Sculpture:
Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu: The Singing Ringing Tree
Liz Phillips: Sunspots
Paul Matisse: The Kendall Band (Kepler, Pythagoras, Galileo) (will be considered as a single work!)
Walter Kitundu: Phonoharp
Trimpin: Klompen
Joe Jones: Flux Music Box
Christian Marclay: Recycled Records
Christian Marclay: Footsteps
From Lecture 9, Sound Installation:
Bernhard Leitner: Sound Chair
Bernhard Leitner: Sound Field
Bernhard Leitner: Serpentinata
Susan Phillipsz: Lowlands
Susan Phillipsz: I See a Darkness
Janet Cardiff: The missing voice
Jace Clayton: 40 Part Part
From Lecture 10, Sound and the Body:
Yoko Ono: Voice Piece for Soprano
Nam June Paik and Charlotte Moorman: TV Cello (ALSO SEE LECTURE 7) (Note: You may not use both Random Access and TV Cello in your paper because they both involve Nam June Paik. You can only use one or the other.)
Julia Heyward: God Talks (ALSO SEE LECTURE 1)
Laurie Anderson: Duets On Ice
Akio Suzuki: Stones
Pamela Z: Breathing
Tracie Morris: The Project Princess
