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

positioned this landmark exhibition in the broader
context of Chinese exhibition history and analyzed how
Chinese new media art was integrated into the global
art world. Capitillo Mojica (2016) scrutinized Chinese
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video art from 1996 to 2006 and produced an in-depth
analysis of the complex relationships between Chinese
new media art and its social, political, and cultural
contexts. Several factors may explain why Western
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scholars are devoting so much attention to Chinese new
media art.
First, contemporary Chinese new media art is deeply
rooted in a country undergoing rapid economic, social,
Figure 17. Yang Jiahui, Silence Situation #22, 2018, photograph courtesy and cultural transformations. Chinese artists confront
M+ Hong Kong.
a unique set of realities and cultural environments.
Their work addresses themes such as globalization,
Muted Situation #22 (Figure 17), in which musicians urbanization, social control and political power,
performed Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony in a muted emotional culture, and collective memory and offers
state while devices placed in front of the video new perspectives and cultural contexts for global
emitted rhythmic and tension-filled noises. This work contemporary art research. Second, China’s ancient art
disrupted the audience’s conventional sound and traditions encompass a wealth of cultural heritage and
vision expectations and generated the humorous image Eastern philosophy (such as calligraphy and landscape
of an orchestra performing in silence. The piece was painting). Chinese artists borrow Western techniques
unanimously recognized by the jury of the inaugural M+ but operate within a distinct cultural and traditional
Sigg Prize. Young’s For Whom the Bell Tolls: A Journey Into background that differs from that of the West. For
Sonic History of Conflict is another notable work. Young example, Western discourse on life and the environment
traveled across five continents for this field recording- tends to be analytical, explaining and interpreting how
based project, touring the research institutions and people should live. However, the Chinese Zen Buddhism-
discovering and recording the bells of different cities and based discussions of the mind and environment result
nations. After completing the project, Young produced in an esthetic philosophy of moral existence. Western
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an archive of bell sounds along with a series of original scholars are particularly interested in this cross-cultural
music compositions. Samson Young’s sound practices dialog; specifically, in how new artistic forms are being
demonstrate a more globalized perspective than the constructed in the context of globalization.
processes adopted by other Chinese sound artists.
Thus, Chinese new media artists do not merely mimic
The rise of sound-themed exhibitions in this period or replicate Western techniques and methods; rather, they
also sparked discussions about the spaces and venues to combine Western approaches with China’s unique cultural,
exhibit sound. Wang Jing (2016) specifically explored this social, and political contexts to create their own forms of
concern, contending that traditional museum and gallery new media art. This process has attracted the attention of
spaces were primarily designed for visual art and were no Western scholars, who focus on Chinese new media art as
longer suitable for the display of sound artworks. Thus, a domain enriching the global art landscape and providing
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an emerging trend in the future development and study new perspectives for cross-cultural exchanges between
of Chinese sound art entails moving away from the visual China and the West.
framework and designing exhibition spaces specifically for
the presentation and performance of sound art. 7. Conclusion
6. Non-domestic perspectives: The interest Since the development of contemporary Chinese art,
of Western scholars in Chinese new media Chinese artists have experimented and explored new ideas
art in tandem with the technology, speculative thought, and
expression of sound. Chinese sound art began to take root
Chinese new media art has developed rapidly and in the 1980s, influenced by Western art movements and the
Western scholars have evinced strong interest in this Postsense Sensibility movement in China. The emergence
domain in recent years. For instance, Katherine Grube of experimental art spaces such as Cangku founded the
studied the Phenomenon: Video exhibition of 1996. She development of sound art in exhibition contexts in China.

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 11 doi: 10.36922/ac.4669