Sonic Boom: The Art of Sound

by David Toop (Curator)

a hardcover catalogue with accompanying cd and essays was published to accompanying exhibition at london's haytward gallery and was underwritten by ford.

127 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2000

About the author

David Toop is a musician, writer, and Professor of Audio Culture and Improvisation at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. He is the author of Ocean of Sound, Sinister Resonance, Into the Maelstrom, and other books.

Reviews

[Ht · Rating 5 out of 5]

a hardcover catalogue with accompanying cd and essays was published to accompany the 2000 exhibition at london's hayward gallery and was underwritten by ford. perhaps due to sound art's inherent problems of identity, any presentation of this size and scope seems idiosyncratic. however, i applaud curator david toop and gallery director susan ferleger brades for undertaking such daunting project. my interest in the field of sound art has intensified as of late. i wish i had been fortunate enough to have experienced the exhibit. i am grateful for the documentation the gallery produced. while the one page blurbs on each of the two dozen plus individuals, collaborations and collectives is necessarily brief, they have provided sufficient enticement for further exploration. in his essay toop did an excellent job of providing an overview of the key historic, conceptual and critical issues regarding the role of audio plays in what's traditionally been thought of as "visual art." in spite of rapid churning of theory and criticism surrounding contemporary art i find the writing to have aged well.