Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Hassold, Cris

Second Advisor

Miles, Stephen

Keywords

Sound Sculpture, Post-Modern Art, Experimental Music

Area of Concentration

Art History, Music

Abstract

Sound art is a relatively new genre that includes both noise material and visual components. A subset of this is sound sculpture: three-dimensional forms that are musical as well as aesthetic. This thesis identifies the qualities needed to create true sound sculptures, recognizes artists who satisfy such curriculum, and connects experimental music practices with contemporary sound sculpture. I argue for a more precise definition of sound sculpture, where the two sensory components are balanced to form an unprecedented form of art. While I do not believe that the Baschet brothers are sound sculptors, I use their criteria for avant-garde sound sculptors as a frame for my argument. Considering the Baschet brother's (François b. 1920 and Bernard b. 1917) eight domains where they as avant-garde artists break new ground, I assert that Bertoia (1915-1978) and Zimoun (b. 1977) are recent artists who, without knowing them, fit into the majority of the brothers' categories while simultaneously expanding the field of sound sculpture. I consider Bertoia to be a bridge between the Baschet brothers and Zimoun. The Baschet brothers began by creating essentially visually interesting instruments, Bertoia expanded their work to create a balance between the visual and aural, and Zimoun extended this equilibrium into a monumental and diverse scale while still acknowledging the inherent relationship between the two sensory components.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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