%0 Journal Article
%T The aesthetic ear: sound art, Jacques Ranci¨¨re and the politics of listening
%A Matthew Mullane
%J Journal of Aesthetics & Culture
%D 2010
%I Co-Action Publishing
%R 10.3402/jac.v2i0.4895
%X If we are to value ˇ°sound artˇ± as a worthwhile creative form and a legitimate fragment in the history of art, we must move away from debates of nomenclature and forge ahead to critically examine sound's aesthetic and political potential. Approaching ˇ°sound artˇ± as a problematic and unnecessary term, what follows is a simultaneous survey and refutation of recent publications on the topic and an assertion of sound's aesthetics via the theory of French philosopher, Jacques Ranci¨¨re. Heard through the writings of Ranci¨¨re, contemporary work in sound breaks out of its exclusive sphere and reveals itself as a vivid commentary on the everyday and a keen activator of ˇ°heterogeneousˇ± political elements. Framed by an overview of the details and import of Ranci¨¨re's recently translated collections is an analysis of four active artists whose work engages the ˇ°aesthetic earˇ± and proves itself to be more than merely sound-for-sound's sake.
%K contemporary art
%K sound studies
%K sound art
%K Christian Marclay
%K Toshiya Tsunoda
%K Janet Cardiff
%K Janek Schaefer
%K Alan Licht
%U http://www.aestheticsandculture.net/index.php/jac/article/view/4895/5623