Audio fail: why is so much sound art so bad? | Jonathan Jones

Susan Philipsz and John Cage have shown that the genre has claims to greatness, but two works in Edinburgh betray the emptiness of much sound art

Sunlight is streaming into an Edinburgh chapel. On speakers spaced throughout this gothic building, people are talking. Sometimes they burst into song. Then the talking starts up again. We’re hearing a choir rehearsal, it seems – but it’s all a bit lackadaisical. Apart from me, the only people here are a couple of invigilators who sit chatting in the middle of the church. That’s totally understandable. I’d be bored too after spending all day with this artwork. The chat simply adds to the futile feeling of it all.

Related: Edinburgh art festival review – ugly beauty in the Jekyll and Hyde city

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