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Arts & Communication Sound and cross-cultural art in China since 1980s

Figure 8. Bill Viola, Nantes Triptych, 1992. Copyright© Copyright © The Royal Academy of Arts.

That same year, the Whitney Museum of American
Art in New York hosted the exhibition I Am Sitting in a
Room: Sound Works by American Artists 1950 – 2000, the
Hayward Gallery in London curated the milestone sound
art exhibition Sonic Boom: The Art of Sound (Figure 9),
and the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York
presented Volume: Bed of Sound. At P.S.1 (Figure 10),
visitors could lie on a bed and listen to a group of artists
discuss “sound in the digital age” interspersed with
real-time computer-processed music and recordings
from the exhibition. Chinese artist Zhang Peili used a
similar approach in 2018 in his work Audible Mattress.
A synthesized voice began reading out random names
in standard Mandarin when exhibition viewers lay on a Figure 9. Sonic Boom: The Art of Sound, Hayward Gallery, 2000.
Copyright© Hayward Gallery.
mattress. The names were obtained from lists of national
representatives, wanted criminals, or missing children
(Figures 11 and 12).
These sound-inclusive artworks demonstrate the value
of the sound medium in art. First, the non-visual nature
of sound allows visitors to experience artworks from
individualized auditory perspectives and veer away from
visually dominant art experiences. Second, sound endows
artworks with a strong spatial quality: It can interact with
the environment through reflection and transmission to
enhance the audience’s sense of immersion. Third, the
temporal attribute of sound is dynamic and fluid, unlike the
fixed nature of visual images; thus, it creates a multilayered
experience of time. Fourth, sound acts directly on the
listener’s body through vibrations. The deep resonance of Figure 10. Installation view of Ugo Rondinone’s Volume: Bed of Sound in
low-frequency sounds or the sharpness of high-pitched the P.S. 1 exhibition, MoMA PS1 Archives, II.A.1299. Copyright© 2000
tones can trigger physiological responses and evoke deeper MoMA PS1 Archives.
emotional and bodily experiences. It is difficult to achieve
this intimate connection between sound and body through Qiu Zhijie held a solo exhibition in Japan in 2001 titled
visual art. Finally, sound can be significantly ambiguous The Sound of Sounds, which featured artworks related
in artworks: sound art can “sound like anything” and can to traditional Chinese sounds. However, the showcased
thus unlock interpretive possibilities. Artists can present artworks were mostly silent, marking a connection between
discrete realities, emotions, or conceptual ideas by mixing traditional Chinese culture and the understanding of sound
varied tones, noises, and harmonics to create composite by Chinese sound artists. One of the exhibited works labeled
meanings. Dumbbell comprised a large paper lantern engraved with

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/ac.4669