Voiceover takeover
Voiceover takeover
The presence of sound in art is no longer a surprise. Over the past decade, many have theorised the operation, handling and history of gallery sound. In the same period, voice studies has evolved into a busy zone of interdisciplinary enquiry. But while variants of the voiceover are proliferating in contemporary video and installation art, the significance of this phenomenon—voiceover in the expanded field—has not yet registered.
Since at least the 1960s, language has figured among art’s primary media. Where once we were expected to read our way through an exhibition, now we are called upon (or made) to listen. In this paper, I will examine the suddenly-ubiquitous voiced transmission of unreadable texts in 21st century art: attempting to account for art’s current fascination with voicing writing. Tracking the migration of art-texts from vitrine into vocality, I will consider how and why museums and galleries have accommodated (or driven) this new vocal orientation. Finally, by surveying trends in vocal performance and production, I will point up some of the curatorial hazards that can arise when art’s language experiments are transposed into sonic form.
Hayden, Sarah
cf6b5dc1-acda-4983-83e6-ad2d96e73764
1 October 2019
Hayden, Sarah
cf6b5dc1-acda-4983-83e6-ad2d96e73764
Hayden, Sarah
(2019)
Voiceover takeover.
In Pursuit of Sound: An Interdisciplinary Sound Studies Symposium, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
01 - 02 Oct 2019.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
The presence of sound in art is no longer a surprise. Over the past decade, many have theorised the operation, handling and history of gallery sound. In the same period, voice studies has evolved into a busy zone of interdisciplinary enquiry. But while variants of the voiceover are proliferating in contemporary video and installation art, the significance of this phenomenon—voiceover in the expanded field—has not yet registered.
Since at least the 1960s, language has figured among art’s primary media. Where once we were expected to read our way through an exhibition, now we are called upon (or made) to listen. In this paper, I will examine the suddenly-ubiquitous voiced transmission of unreadable texts in 21st century art: attempting to account for art’s current fascination with voicing writing. Tracking the migration of art-texts from vitrine into vocality, I will consider how and why museums and galleries have accommodated (or driven) this new vocal orientation. Finally, by surveying trends in vocal performance and production, I will point up some of the curatorial hazards that can arise when art’s language experiments are transposed into sonic form.
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Published date: 1 October 2019
Venue - Dates:
In Pursuit of Sound: An Interdisciplinary Sound Studies Symposium, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2019-10-01 - 2019-10-02
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Local EPrints ID: 435997
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/435997
PURE UUID: 76044de5-6af9-4a0d-a95c-825fcf8ef973
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Date deposited: 26 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 12 Dec 2021 07:26
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