Sound Art

     There is a prize given yearly in London called the "Turner Prize", given to one artist who pushes the boundaries of contemporary art, in new and exciting ways. While the prize is often made fun of by others who mimic the art with found materials in their own homes (as it tends to be easy to recreate), this year is a bit different and has generated a buzz in the art world.
     The reason for that is that the winning work is sound art. There is no visual aspect of the art at all; instead, "viewers" sit on benches or stand around and listen to the artist, Susan Philipsz, singing old Scottish laments through hidden speakers. People are applauding this choice, as they say that music is art too and should be awarded for touching the spirit of the listener in a new way.

     It begs the question of whether there is a need to separate the two fields: If music is art and art is music, will paintings be competing with Beethoven somewhere down the line?