1975sehen - saet

oct 1975

oct 1975(Edit)

Sehen um zu hören : Objekte & Konzerte zur visuellen Musik der 60ger Jahre

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Organisation :(Edit)

Stadtliche Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf

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Location :(Edit)

Grabbeplatz

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Dates :(Edit)

17-26 oct 1975

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Description :(Edit)

Exhibition title : See in Order to Hear: Objects and Concerts of Visual Music of the 60s.

Although the exhibition Für Augen und Ohren (1980) in Berlin is habitually regarded as the main predecessor of what later became known as sound art, or the German Klangkunst, a less well- publicised event in Düsseldorf set the mile stone for that distinct field five years earlier. Sehen um zu hören: Objekte und Konzerte zur visuellen Musik der 60er Jahre (See in Order to Hear: Objects and Concerts of Visual Music of the 60s) was an exhibition accompanied by performances and was one of the first post-war instances which exemplified the growing institutional interest in the connections between music and visual arts. It’s interdisciplinary mode of operation promised to redefine institutional boundaries between disciplines. Whilst closely examining the curatorial aspects of the exhibition, I would argue that despite its experimental attempts to mingle between the disciplines of music and the visual arts, the visual elements were still primarily considered part of music and not as ‘in-between’ categories. Yet despite the difficulties this primarily visual arts oriented institution faced, Sehen um zu hören is considered in this paper as one of the earliest and significant attempts to curate, what was defined then as ‘visual music’. (Irene Noy: Seeing in order to hear. Early Curatorial Practices in West Germany, http://soundartcurating.org/onewebmedia/Sound%20Art%20Curating%20ZKM%20Program.pdf )

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