My experiment was part of a research and writing residency on the concept of audio art that I conducted at Oboro during the summer of 2011. During this time I sifted through Oboro\u2019s large archive of documentation of audio artworks that have been presented or created there. I consulted publications, press releases, and web materials. I also conducted short interviews with a half-dozen Montr\u00e9al-based audio artists with links to the centre. My recording initiative was a way of investigating what it would be like to create and present audio work at Oboro, noting especially the expansive, reverberant qualities of its grande galerie<\/em>. In the end the process revealed something unexpected: evidence of the \u201ccolouration\u201d of reflected sounds that occurs while we move through interior environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art brings forth knowledge, energy, formed matter, and other types of \u201cbeing\u201d into \u201cunconcealment\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009a process that Martin Heidegger describes as \u201crevealing.\u201d3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 3 <\/a> - See Martin Heidegger, \u201cThe Question Concerning Technology,\u201d in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays<\/em>, trans. William Lovitt (New York: Harper and Row, 1977), 11\u201312. <\/span> This bringing forth into unconcealment occurs through technology\u2009\u2014\u2009the Greek root techne- <\/em>applied not only to \u201cactivities and skills of the craftsman, but also.\u2009.\u2009.<\/em> the arts of the mind and the fine arts.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 4 <\/a> - Ibid., 13.<\/span> Artistic revealing involves a technological process of bringing elements together with a notion as to what can emerge from their juxtaposition. It is in and through such a gathering that what is revealed becomes clear\u2009\u2014\u2009often via moments of surprise and\/or improvisation. Revealing is about a reflexive mindset that does not approach technology instrumentally. It is respectful and enigmatic as the process always suggests the potential for further degrees of \u201cunconcealment\u201d as opposed to laying bare some ultimate truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The revealing involved in audio art occurs during the making of sound-based creative works. The task then becomes sharing what has emerged in a way that will provoke a similar feeling of having \u201cwitnessed\u201d something\u2009\u2014\u2009an aim that can take myriad forms. Following authors like Alan Licht and Brandon Labelle,5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 5 <\/a> - See Alan Licht, \u201cSound Art: Origins, Development and Ambiguities,\u201d in Organised Sound<\/em> 14, no. 1 (2009): 3-10 and Brandon LaBelle, Background Noise<\/em>: Perspectives on Sound Art<\/em> (New York: Continuum, 2006). <\/span> I hoped it might be possible to distinguish between \u201caudio art\u201d and \u201csound art,\u201d where the latter term would be retained principally for installation works that did not feature any temporal elements like \u201cbeginnings\u201d or \u201cendings\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009thus distinguishing \u201csound art\u201d from experimental musical performance, for instance, or studio-based electronic composition, to which the more open term \u201caudio art\u201d might be applied.6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 6 <\/a> - Oboro has supported many sound\/audio art installation projects, including Marc Fournel\u2019s Tontauben <\/em>(2004), Robin Dupuis\u2019 Commutative <\/em>(2005), Diane Landry\u2019s Le Bouclier Magique <\/em>(2006), \u00c9rick d\u2019Orion\u2019s Solo de musique concr\u00e8te pour 6 piano sans pianiste <\/em>(2008); Catherine B\u00e9chard et Sabin Hudon\u2019s Cubes a sons\/bruits\/babils <\/em>(2008); <\/em>Robin Minard\u2019s Sounds on Paper <\/em>(2008); and Max Stein, Julian Stein, and Nimalan Yoganathan\u2019s Automatons & Secret Rhythms<\/em> (2010). <\/span> But the distinction did not stand up to the ways in which many of the audio\/sound artists I researched spoke about their work and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The notion of revealing, on the other hand\u2009\u2014\u2009of bringing forth into unconcealment\u2009\u2014\u2009while not determining the contours of audio art very precisely, does provide an arena in which discussions about what different pieces actually do <\/em>can resonate with wider taxonomic questions. Audio art is a heterogenous concept where multiple, divergent examples are all we can use to explain the notion itself. The eclectic assemblage of works, events, and opinions I encountered in the course of my research reflects this point. What follows are a few examples that illustrate a diversity of practices, methods, and technologies employed. The different ways these pieces exemplify audio art troubles any easy demarcations in terms of form. Practices of revealing through audio technology, on the other hand, are conspicuous parts of each work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delay Toys<\/em> (2009) is mixed from recordings Tobin made with a collection of sound-making children\u2019s toys, played by herself and Martin T\u00e9treault, in the Oboro sound studios, and also by invitees whom she met with in locations that had some significance for them. Rhythms and musical tones are evoked in Tobin\u2019s mix through a creative and varied use of delay, pitch-shifting, and other time-based audio effects. The piece is reminiscent of another work that Tobin produced in the Oboro studio, Ouverture <\/em>(2007), which is an exploration of the sonic potential of a set of clock chimes. Both examples deploy overriding conceptual constraints that make the pieces interesting on the level of results, that is: what might working only with clock chimes or a box of children\u2019s toys yield? Although resembling \u201cexperimental music\u201d in many ways, both as listening experiences and also through their form as reproducible electronic compositions, the works nevertheless resonate with a conception of audio art as engaged towards revealing. These are non-instrumental technological initiatives, where processes of working with both high and low-tech devices uncover hidden potential in the sources gathered, recorded, transformed, and mixed.7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 7 <\/a> - Other recording and composition initiatives I encountered include Steve Heimbecker\u2019s Songs of Place<\/em> (2005); Chantal Dumas\u2019 Les Petits Riens<\/em> (2009); and Annie Martin\u2019s Music for Insomniacs<\/em> (2008).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This four-day workshop (in which Tobin and Claude participated, along with a small group of Montr\u00e9al sound artists) took place in September 2008, culminating in a structured surround sound improvisation presenting the group\u2019s audio field recording initiatives. Highly performative, Kubisch\u2019s Electrical Walks<\/em> involve the use of specialized microphone and headphone kits that allow a walking recordist to capture the normally inaudible sounds of the inductive electromagnetic circuits that abound in urban environments, from laptop keyboard screeches to neon light drones. The recordings made by each workshop participant were quite distinct, reflecting the style, sensibilities, and contextual conditions for each recordist-explorer. The notion of revealing through a conceptual constraint returns again in this instance, highlighting also the ways in which performances<\/em> occur during both acts of recording and presenting audio artworks. Kubisch\u2019s method confirms how audio art can be more about an approach or mindset than specific sonic creations. The workshop model also corresponds directly with the suggestion that revealing in audio art first happens to the \u00adartist experimenting with new ideas who is then challenged to effectively demonstrate to others what has been brought forth.8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 8 <\/a> - Other recent workshop-based initiatives I encountered include (selected): Samuel Thulin\u2019s There to Hear<\/em> (2010) and Kaffe Matthews\u2019 Sonic Bed as an Instrument<\/em> (2010).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Natura Sonoris<\/em> (2009) involves the live construction of a soundscape reminiscent of horror movie soundtracks. It was premiered at Oboro, developed in collaboration with Myl\u00e9na Bergeron, and featured visual projections by Karl Lemieux and L\u2019oeil de verre (Carl Fortin and Jean-Beno\u00eet Pouliot). It is composed from diverse audio recordings and a \u201clutherie acoustique\u201d of sound-generating metallic objects to which are applied different forms of live analogue signal processing. When asked about her usual array of \u201cinstruments,\u201d Babin responded: \u201cAll objects are sonorous. I have developed a tactile approach that I call the sonic geography of objects. Every surface, when explored, delivers its own array of regions, of zones that respond in unique sonic ways to different forms of manipulation. The contour of an object, for instance, is very different in terms of subtle acoustics when compared to its centre, both of which are interesting to amplify. What never ceases to fascinate me is how a single minimal gesture can create an incredible range of sonic textures.\u201d9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 9 <\/a> - Magali Babin, August 29, 2011, personal communication. (Our translation.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although this work was presented as a performance event, and (as with Tobin\u2019s Delay Toys<\/em>) can certainly be considered \u201cexperimental music\u201d (replete with live visuals), Babin\u2019s reference to finding the sonic material that can be brought out of any object demonstrates again the centrality of revealing as a mindset intrinsic to audio art. Our environments are filled with quotidian sounds that we cause or hear and yet fail to notice. A performance such as Natura Sonoris<\/em> reminds us of the sounds of everyday life, at the same time as it reveals the creative potential of such audio source material.10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 10 <\/a> - Other performance-based audio artworks that I encountered include Chris Carri\u00e8re\u2019s Soft Saturation<\/em> (2011); France Jobin\u2019s (I8U) series Immerson<\/em> (2011\u201312); Nimalan Yoganathan\u2019s Soundscapes of Inukjuak<\/em> (2010); and Ce Qui Arrive <\/em>(2008) by Chantal Neveu.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDelay Toys<\/em> is basically recordings that were manipulated in a way that, for me, is composing and from that work\u2009\u2014\u2009that process\u2009\u2014\u2009a work appeared.\u2009.\u2009.<\/em> that people can listen to on their own in their own personal environments.\u2009.\u2009.<\/em> on a CD or some other format. So whether that\u2019s audio art or sound art, honestly I would say I couldn\u2019t care less.\u201d11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 11 <\/a> - Nancy Tobin, September 2, 2011, personal communication. <\/span> I understand this attitude well. Too much concern over what category one\u2019s work falls into can irrevocably skew one\u2019s creative instincts. But basing an artistic practice on the medium of sound is a choice that warrants discussion. In addressing us through our sense of hearing, audio artists elicit empathetic, embodied responses to what they reveal. When witnessing audio art, we feel, in some small way, what it would be like to cause or perceive the sounds we are presented with in other situations, both fictional and real. These are, among other things, mnemonic, physical, psychological, social, and cultural responses. We<\/em> are performed, in some senses, by what we hear in these instances. This is what it means to experience something being brought forth into unconcealment: we are moved, our expectations are undone, we are surprised.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cscore\u201d for I am Sitting in a Room<\/em> consists of a short set of instructions on how to work with the equipment involved (two tape recorders and a microphone). It also specifies a particular text to read aloud, beginning with, \u201cI am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now.\u201d Lucier insists that other texts could be used, and he also provides a series of suggestions for different versions, including the use of more than one room, of multiple languages or microphone placements, as well as the open-ended suggestion: \u201cMake versions that can be performed in real time.\u201d12<\/sup><\/a><\/span> 12 <\/a> - See Alvin Lucier, \u201cI Am Sitting In a Room,\u201d in Source: Music of the Avant-Garde, 1966\u20131973<\/em>, eds. Larry Austin and Douglas Kahn. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), 249 and www.ubu.com\/sound\/lucier.html.<\/span> I am Sitting in a Room<\/em> exemplifies the ways in which \u00adexperimentally provoking sonic phenomena through technological manipulation can be considered central to audio art. Such revealing happens while creating and\/or witnessing audio artworks and constitutes performance in the same way that an operation can be both performed \u201con\u201d or \u201cby\u201d someone. Audio art draws attention to the nuances of the shared soundscapes that frame our daily activities\u2009\u2014\u2009the \u201crooms\u201d in which we all sit, walk, talk, move, share, hear, and listen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Magali-Babin_Natura-Sonoris.jpg\")
photo : Catherine Lefebvre, \u00adpermission de l’artiste | courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Kubisch_Electrical-walks-2-scaled.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Kubisch_Electrical-walks-4-scaled.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Kubisch_Electrical-walks-3-scaled.jpg\")
photos : permission de l’artiste | courtesy of the artist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Kubisch_Electrical-walks-scaled.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNancy Tobin, Delay Toys<\/em> – Berceuses pour grandes personnes<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Tobin_accordeon-scaled.jpg\")
R\u00e9gie Oboro<\/em>, performance, Oboro, Montr\u00e9al, 2007.
photo : Annie Tremblay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nChristina Kubisch – Electromagnetic Exploration of the City<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Magali Babin – Natura Sonoris<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/esse.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/74_RES01_Chapman_Natura-Sonoris-Team.jpg\")
Jean-Beno\u00eet Pouliot, Karl Lemieux, Myl\u00e9na Bergeron,
Magali Babin & Carl Fortin, Montr\u00e9al, 2009.
photo : Catherine Lefebvre, permission de |\u2009courtesy
of Magali Babin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n