Bernard Leitner, who is an sound art practitioner based in New York, used sound and space as material to build installations with his architectural background, hence interpreting the concept of “corporeal” hearing. His first work Soundcube in 1969 was a walkable cube with 384 loudspeakers lining its six inner walls. By conducting distinct routes of functioning, several unique immersive auditory perception for the body were generated.
He was considered a pioneer of the art form of “sound installation, which “serves to shift attention from the visual to the acoustic level of the installation.” His works embraces the modernist ideas about challenging traditional modes of perception and engaging the audience the viewer with more immersive experience. When the visitor is no longer needlessly diverted by visual stimuli, their attention to sound naturally intensifies. This can be seen as part of the broader trend of exploring new artistic mediums and pushing the boundaries of traditional art forms, aligning the characteristics of modernism and avant-garde approaches.
His works intrigued my initial interest in Sound Arts as it incorporates elements like sound, space, and time into his works and creates a tension of endlessness. The installations are denying to be fully consumed by the audience which is different from conventional performance that has explicit starting and ending. What’s more, by providing the experimental journey of “corporeal listening”, it challenges the common sense of aural perception of the audience and commits to the exploration both aurally and visually.