Sound Art

Over the first week of being back from holidays we were gradually introduced to a whole new world that surrounds us. A world that we  barely ever recognize in our everyday lives. This world to my surprise was sound. I had only ever interpreted sound to be art in the form of music. However over the past few days I have come to the realization that sound has many other uses, and that the word art has no boundaries. Zoe introduced the class to artists by the likes of Loren Chasse who explore sound on a whole new level than ever before. Something as simple as the movements of blades of grass and the crunching of glass can conjur up a whole range of emotions just as any other art would in people. However some of the videos that we were shown did frustrate me a great deal. For example, the video we were shown where a famous artist composed a piece on the piano. But this was no ordinary music, it wasn't music at all, it was simply silence. He wanted to show the audience that silence is just as important as sound itself. However, it just seemed like it was taking it too far. Everyone was expecting to see something extraordinary and what we were greeted with was 3 minutes of our lives wasted watching a man turn pages. I appreciate that he was trying to make a point, but in my personal opinion, as much as I agree that no label should be placed on art, I have to admit, this art was not my taste. It was more of a statement. Another example that I absolutely hated and despised was the YouTube video Zoe showed us where a woman videoed herself acting absolutely crazy, jumping around, and screaming in situations where you just would not expect it. She screamed and made a scene outside a business building, in the street and in other strange areas. But i ask, for what?? It just annoyed people. We were told she did acts for live shows and that she could only perform for less than 3minutes because she vomited after every act. To me this is a waste of attention and not art. After watching the video, I literally had no idea what the point of it was...