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

experience in curating sound exhibitions. Nonetheless,
the exhibition delivered valuable insights, turning an
exhibition space, formal or informal, into a site for the
experimentation and practice of contemporary Chinese
sound art.

4. Yao Dajuin and the major Chinese sound
art exhibitions: 2002 – 2013
Chinese art entered a phase of rapid marketization
and commercialization during this period. Sound
and multimedia art became increasingly prevalent
in exhibition settings due to the growing number of
museums, galleries, and contemporary art spaces in cities
Figure 13. Ear to the Ground, Exhibition at Colgate University, photograph such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. Yao Dajuin is
courtesy Mark Williams and Colgate University, 2013. Copyright © China
Daily. an indispensable personality in discussions concerning
important exhibitions of Chinese sound art. Yao has
2
As in Janet Cardiff’s renowned work The Forty curated numerous sound art festivals and exhibitions
Part Motet (2001), the sounds in Shi Qing’s Buddhist in both China and the West that have contributed
Sound change according to the movements of visitors significantly to the development of sound art practices in
China. These include the Beijing Sound Art Festival (2003),
passing through the defined space. A button is triggered Sound Imagination: Sound Installation Exhibition (2005),
when someone steps on a preset mechanism, producing an and Sound Hangzhou: Live Media Art (2011), Revolutions
“Ouch” sound. Wolfgang Iser’s theory of esthetic response Per Minute: Sound Art from New York, Shanghai, and Hong
represents the literary reception esthetics perspective of the Kong (2013), NY Exhibit: Ear to the Ground (2013), and
interactions between authors and readers. Nevertheless, Schizophrenia: Sound Alienation in Shenzhen (2015).
this framework is apt for the comprehension of the
associations between audiences and sound works. Fluxus Yao has also created numerous sound artworks
artist Wolf Vostell created similar artworks in the 1970s. such as the Nanjing Ear Trumpet (2005), for which he
Participants generated electronic sounds in his piece roamed the streets of Nanjing with recording equipment,
Induction by walking through a space and triggering preset capturing diverse sounds of everyday life. The recordings
electromagnetic fields that activated sounds when visitors were subsequently processed using different techniques
stepped on them. and edited into a sound installation lasting more than
2 h. He created The Garden of Buddhahood (2013) for
Besides spatial engagement, this exhibition aimed to
evoke emotional appeal and featured works that connected Colgate University’s Chinese sound art exhibition. This
artwork featured 45 chanting lamps that combined
sound with human experiences and resulting sentiments. elements of lighting and the recitation of Buddhist
For example, Zhang Hui’s I’d Rather Die Than Hear Your scripture (Figure 13). Modern chanting lamps sometimes
XX Sound Again staged a drama motivated by sound: its incorporate technological features such as built-in
background soundscape of a woman’s loud accusations and electronic devices that play recordings of Buddhist sutras.
bloody shattered walls created a disturbing atmosphere. Both these works highlight the distinctive cultural symbols
Three masked individuals violently threw ox bones at of China through the themes and content related to sound.
large glass panels engraved with their names, shattering
them. The chaotic sounds of the performance powerfully Artists born in the 1960s and 1970s used sound to
demonstrated the psychological impact of sound. The engage with political and historical narratives or collective
meanings and contents of the work remained ambiguous memory. Conversely, the new generation of younger
but the atmosphere created by the sound and the immersive artists attends more to the ontology of sound and its
experience highlighted the profound psychological effects sensory expression. This shift has produced several artists
sound can induce.
2 Yao founded the influential China Sound Group as a sound
This exhibition was both pioneering and experimental artist, (now succeeded by the Hangzhou Sound Group). He
for the evolution of contemporary Chinese sound art. owned and operated a radio station, Fore Taste Radio, as a
However, many unforeseen challenges such as sound DJ and served as the publisher for Sub Jam Records. He also
interference, overly sensitive sound devices, and the acts as a curator and promoter of sound art in China (and is
instability of certain works emerged due to curators limited currently a professor at the China Academy of Art).

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.4669