Date of Award

3-10-2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Discipline

Arts

Department

Cultural Studies

First Advisor

Prof. CHAN Ching Kiu Stephen

Second Advisor

Prof. DE DIOS Anjeline Eloisa Javate

Abstract

While sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila operate separately, they are interlinked by various factors that have enabled their practices, respectively. This research is a study of such connection. In particular, I claim that sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila share distinct characteristics that allow inter-referencing to be adopted as an effective tool in approaching the problem at hand. Sound practice for both Hong Kong and Manila is uniquely located in the interstices of music and art—a location where their distinct form, history, and ethics are entangled with those of music and art. I argue that this unique location of sound practice is brought about by the conditions that have enabled it. Among these conditions are the earlier encounters between Hong Kong and Manila—through artist exchanges and events or gatherings such as exhibits, festivals, and conferences since the 1960s. With these encounters, direct relations are traced to the current sound practice by virtue of organizational, conceptual, or ideological affinity. Thus, I propose that sound practice should be understood not as an autonomous art movement, but one that is a product of the society where it emerges from.

Besides the historical connection, this study will expound on the three factors that enable the sound practices at issue: technological movements, DIY culture, and art institutions. Technological movements or technological developments enabled the evolution of forms and the development of different sound projects. DIY culture gave sound practitioners inspiration on how to organize themselves as communities in relation to or despite the prevailing art market. Meanwhile, various discourses in the contemporary art world in Asia, concerning both music and visual arts, gave rise to conditions where sound projects can be understood as a tradition, expression, representation, or commodity, among others. Specific manifestations and interventions of these three factors, from early 1990 until the mid-2010s, are identified and analysed vis-a-vis the current conditions of the practice. This research will show that it is within the constellation of these three enabling factors that the sites of practice are shaped and the ethics of the practice moulded. In conclusion, I will discuss how sound practice may continue to grow and further develop.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Yraola, D. M. N. T. (2020). Conditions of enablement of sound practices in Hong Kong and Manila (Doctoral thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/otd/98/

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