What does it mean for sound to be exhibited? How can sound be regarded as an artistic medium? Musical performances, of course are sound-based, but what about sound as a medium for exhibition? Can sound be “shown” in a gallery?

The genre of sound art is not new, but is still perhaps a medium that has no fixed definition. Sound takes time to process, since it is a temporal medium. It also gives us clues about space and direction. Our language is based on the constraints and features of sound. And unlike the visual, it is difficult to “frame” sound, in terms of presenting it while blocking out other, unwanted noise.

The seven artists of this show all refer to sound in some way, either as primary material, as conceptual or “non-cochlear,” even as musical: all with the exhibition in mind. None of these pieces have a beginning or end, but all have something to say about sound. Eleanor King’s pieces use the physical media of sound as visual object/tool. Courtney Brown, Scott Smallwood, and Marla Hlady’s work utilize sound directly as a source of play and discovery. Howard Bashaw’s graphical score and Stephan Moore’s Max code both show descriptions/prescriptions of how sound can be performed, either by machine or by human players and musicians. And Gary James Joynes’s film creates an audio-visual melding of sensation that connect the eye and ear.

The exhibition is affiliated with the conference Exhibiting Sound which will be held at the University of Alberta, October 30 to November 1, and feature Keynote speakers Barbara London (Former Curator, Musum of Modern Art), Stephan Moore (Sound Artist / Composer / Lecturer, Northwestern University) and Jeff Todd Titon (Emeritus Professor of Music, Brown University).