Radio Art. The Perception of a Special Form of Dematerialized Art

CIHA - 33. Internationaler Kunsthistoriker-Kongress, 15. - 20. Juli 2012 in Nürnberg

Radio art is the term commonly used since the 1960s to designate works of art based on dissemination by way of radio broadcasting or Internet radio or, in essence, on the transmission of “acoustic or radiophonic signals.” It refers to artists’ exploration of radio technology, the radio as a mass medium, and the perception and impact of radio. The aesthetic and conceptual breadth of these activities has led to works by artists conceived especially for radio broadcasting and as a rule reflecting on that medium, as well as to networked intermedia and international radio art projects taking place simultaneously in several locations in various countries and occasionally worldwide, connected via telephone, Internet, radio and/or satellite as a means of creating a temporary joint artwork. 
The constitution of “acoustic absence” and the perception of “spatial void” in radio artworks exert a fundamental influence on the handling of and preoccupation with radio art. 
In the form of “dematerialized objects”, radio art – with its acoustic “performance” (broadcasting) character – transcends the boundaries of visual-object-oriented art scholarship. Radio art was moreover conceived in keeping with the idea of the democratization of art to make it accessible for all. Its fugitive character not only demands special forms of documentation and cataloguing, but also the preservation of a cultural asset in its specific media form and ephemeral structure, since many of these works are in danger of being lost. Their aesthetic perception is based on the creation of a radiophonic meta-space; their authenticity is inseparably bound to space and time. 
For art scholarship, the challenge of an object of radio art lies in expanding the concept of the artwork.