Basic Information

Participant：A third-year master’s student in Musicology and Music Studies
Location：London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
Period：January 12 – March 31, 2015

Achievements

At London College of Communication in the University of the Arts London, I learned about activities conducted by local sound artists and explored how my activities can be defined in the field of sound art.

The course that I attended had a lecture series featuring a world-famous sound artist every week. Through learning about different approaches taken by artists to “sound” as a shared medium of art, I realized the depth of sound art in a sense that it cannot be categorized neither as music nor art and goes beyond the realm of fine art. The course also made me think about the advantage and disadvantage of sound art. Having no clear definition, the field of sound art is diverse (advantage). At the same time, there are no boundaries dividing sound art from other forms of art, so the term “sound art” has little meaning in itself as a label (disadvantage).

My studies at the college involved creating audio works, in addition to attending lectures and participating in group literature reviews and discussions. I initially felt overwhelmed because I had never made a work focusing solely on sound, but it was a great opportunity for me to explore new ways of expression. The achievement of my work is well illustrated by the exhibition that took place in London and New York, where I was one of the artists who presented their work. I was given this opportunity as the result of my audio work being selected for the competition co-hosted by the University of the Arts London and New York University.

Furthermore, I had the chance to take part as a performer in the exhibition by the renowned artist, Christian Marclay. The exhibition helped me make the first step to developing ties with artists both in Japan and across the world and to broadening the scope of my activities as an artist.