Sonic Art

Sonic art, or sound art, is a form of creative expression that primarily uses sound as its medium or material.

Also known as sound art, sonic art, much like various contemporary art genres, can be interdisciplinary or take on hybrid forms. As defined by Brandon LaBelle, it involves understanding, interpreting, performing, and questioning the nature and mechanisms of sound. In the 1950s and 1960s, artists like Bill Fontana began using kinetic sculptures and electronic media, blending live and recorded sound to explore their surroundings.

The advent of digital technology has brought significant changes to sonic art. Artists can now create visual responses to sounds, allow audience interaction through pressure pads, sensors, and voice activation, and even, in cases like Jem Finer's Longplayer, extend the resonance of a sound for a millennium.

Other words in the glossary

Start your collection with an edition

Do you need framing advice?

Building your collection? We can help.

Your questions, answered

Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.