3883
Ciumakova, Ina "Sound Art as Media Art Legacy: Documentation of an Endangered Practice." Master
, Aalborg University, 2018
Keywords/Fields of Study : Sound art installation, media art, documentation, contextualisation
97
pages, written in English
, copyright Ina Ciumakova
Abstract: The subject of this academic research is the documentation practice related to the interactive sound art
installations and sound art environments. In this thesis sound art is analysed from the media arts perspective. In terms of
preservation and theoretical contextualization, sound art is considered to be an endangered practice and this study aims
to identify which elements of the practice are at risk and why.
To approach the subject, first, the research aims to define what elements differentiate sound art installations and sound art
environments from traditional visual art and music. Secondly, the study aims to identify what elements of sound art
installations need and can be preserved by the means of documentation. Several possible strategies are analysed and
compared. Selected works of art are examined in parallel as to give the problem more practical approach and context.
This research uses a mixed methodology that combines a bibliographical research, comparative artwork analysis, case
studies of chosen documentation strategies proposed by art institutions (1), festivals (1) and independent curators (2). The
bibliographical research is based on a media and sound art curators’ publications, interviews, articles, texts originating
from the exhibition catalogues.
The results of the study reveal that due to the use of the digital and electronic technology, and more specifically, due to the
eventual obsolescence of hardware and software components, utilized in sound artworks, some of its elements are at the
risk of disappearing. This factor brings the necessity of artwork documentation. The practices of documentation, however,
are various and curators are still experimenting with its formats and methodologies. Hence, one single efficient
documentation model, that suits all needs, couldn’t be identified. Sound art and media art, however, could use similar
models. The research also shows that the use of the Web and the Internet are seen as prevailing, both, in the context of
discussed institutions and in the practice of independent curators.
Department: Media Art
, Aalborg University
Advisor(s): Morten Søndergaard
