Abstract

     With devices such as cell phones and headphones becoming part of our everyday auditory experience, it is a given that the current urban soundscape has primarily become a digitalized one. One question that a "soundwalk" poses is: what does listening/hearing mean in a predominately digitalized modern environment?

     It is to be noted that there are works of sound art which can be described as soundwalks using "digital ears" and could therefore be considered as new guides or companions to the soundwalk concept, like works that involve walking through and listening to urban areas while employing headphones and/or body mounted speakers. Examples of such works include: Janet Cardiff's "The Missing Voice- Case Study B" (1999), "Insideout" (1999) by Carsten Nicolai, and Akitsugu Maebayashi's "Sonic Interface" (1999). In works such as these, the intention of the artist is only one constituent element, which would also include the various surrounding environments, and may never be complete, for this is an "art of the moment" and thus the surrounding environment becomes a kind of museum, of which each artist and/or participant takes on the roles of curator and visitor.

     Due to the growth of real time processing technology, various sensor technologies, and the ongoing miniaturization of computers, works increasingly unified with the environment will continue to appear well into the future. In what sort of way will people enjoy their urban soundscapes in the future?

Biography

     Sawako Kato is a Japanese sound artist currently living in Tokyo. She did live performances and participated group exhibits in Japan, USA, and Europe. She was a member of Three Art Project which was an art organization based in Tokyo. She graduated Keio University where she studied computer music from Christopher Penrose, and now is graduated student of the university.
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