Sound installation
Site- and situation-specific artwork in which sound is the defining feature.
What it means
A sound installation is a site- and situation-specific artwork in which sound forms the decisive, defining feature. Unlike a classical concert piece with a fixed beginning and end, a sound installation is usually accessible permanently or over an extended period, and visitors can move freely through the space and experience the sound from different positions.
Musical use
Sound installations arose especially from the 1960s and 1970s in the context of sound art and combine musical, acoustic, and visual-art approaches. They can consist of loudspeakers, acoustic objects, electronically generated sounds, or combinations of these, and sometimes react to the environment, such as wind, visitors' movements, or the architecture of a space. Well-known examples are works by sound artists such as Max Neuhaus, who equipped public spaces with permanent sound works.
The sound installation should be distinguished from the classical concert piece, which has a fixed temporal structure with a beginning and an end and is usually heard from a fixed seat in the audience, and from purely electronic music, which is not necessarily conceived as space-related or site-specific.
Performance practice
When visiting a sound installation, move deliberately through the space and note how the sound impression changes depending on position. Take your time, since many sound installations have no fixed ending, and their effect only unfolds through a longer stay.