S.O.S.: Scenes of Sounds

Sound technologies — inventions like the telephone, tape recorder, loudspeaker, radio, and computer-synthesized speech — have fostered a reconfiguration of acoustic space and a desire for artistic inquiry into the idea of sound in a new electronic universe. S.O.S.: Scenes of Sounds presented an exploration of sound through contemporary art, focusing on the immediate visceral responses made possible by sound. Historically a realm of esoteric experimentation by the twentieth-century avant-garde, sound can break down barriers that limit our broader understanding of contemporary art by combining the familiar with the unknown. This show hosted a wide range of media, including installations, sculptures, paintings, photography, and multimedia and interactive works. The resulting, thoroughly engaging exhibition encouraged visitors to lose themselves in sound. As one of the Tang’s inaugural exhibitions, S.O.S.: Scenes of Sounds also gave visitors a vivid sense of the kinds of exhibition envisioned for the museum — ones that bring together seemingly disparate disciplines and extend our concept of visual and other arts through innovative experiences.