"Sounds Like Art"
1999-08-28 until 1999-11-07
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco, CA, USA United States of America

Four artists share perspectives on the merging of art and music in Sounds Like Art, a multidisciplinary arts festival that examines the relationship between sound and contemporary art. Drawing on all four curatorial departments, Sounds Like Art will present installations, concerts, films and panels that consider how sound has become a continuing subject matter for art and artists. Sounds Like Art was curated by Chief Curator Renny Pritikin and Visual Arts Curator René de Guzman, and includes work by Beth Custer, Matt Heckert, Trimpin and Marina Rosenfeld. Sounds Like Art runs August 28, 1999 through November 7, 1999 and was made possible in part by a generous grant from AT&T.

Beginning in the post-World War II era, the work of John Cage made a case for the idea that breaking down distinctions between noise and music would open up possibilities for auditory pleasure. Random sonic juxtapositions traffic sounds, voices, the chirping of birds could suddenly become impromptu symphonies. This increased openness to sonic experience was augmented in ensuing decades by computer technologies, which added an enormous range of sound possibilities to the mix. Since the 70s there has been a movement afoot among artists from composers to musicians to sculptors to make new music out of new instruments. In the spirit of this inventiveness, Yerba Buena presents a festival that considers these possibilities by looking at the work of a younger generation of artists whose work is expanding the boundaries of music.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of California

Other Important Exhibitions in San Francisco