Perceiving voices in contemporary art: An auditory exploration of image, sculpture and architecture

This thesis investigates some recent developments of sound in contemporary art through an exploration of image, sculpture and architecture. While the areas of image, sculpture and architecture are so crucial to art history that they are included in most important introductory texts to art history, most of these texts remain relatively silent as to the impact that sound and visual art has mutually had on the other. Three contemporary art case studies are presented: (1) Genevieve Cadieux's La voie lactee (1992) an image which incorporates the soundscape, (2) Myriam Laplante's sculptural installation Elixir (2004) that draws on acousmatic sound to give presence to objects, and (3) Janet Cardiff's video walk Conspiracy Theory (2002) a critical examination of the voice in architecture. Through an interpretive exploration of these works, the author seeks to understand how sound might be important to the "silent" image, object, or building. This thesis argues that sound and image can be used together in art to map out new territory, that psychologically stimulating effects occur when sound is projected on to objects, and that sound spaces can be constructed giving an impression of architecture space and material. By approaching sound in art through image, sculpture and architecture, this thesis may assist in establishing the lexicon of sound that is so familiar in other fields of study in art historical terms. This is absolutely crucial for ongoing studies of contemporary art where sound has become so prevalent.