SONORAMA. Art & Technology from Hi-Fi to MP3, Chopo University Museum

Since the advent of high fidelity norm (Hi-Fi) back in the 1950s, there have been changes and brand-new technologies have come up when it comes to playing and listening to music. Each one of them –the record player and LP, cassette and tape recorders, CD, portable devices like walkman and discman as well as MP3 format and tis different players – has brought about profound cultural transformations that go beyond the simple fact of playing the sound, with impact in social behaviors, consumption habits and expressions of popular culture.

The contemporary works that make up this show, to be inaugurate on October 24 at Chopo University Museum (Mexico D.F.), review record players and LP’s, cassettes and tape recorders, CD’s and new digital formats, go deep into their sociocultural impact and question the commercial imaginary they trigger. Although it’s all about music playing technologies, the works are not only focused on this matter. Sonorama alludes to the visual dimension and tactile character of this display. This is an effort to go back to the listening experience in a physical level that includes the whole sensorial system.

Participating artists in this show are Gustavo Artigas, Tania Candiani, Ulises Carrión, Emilio Chapela, Arcángel Constantini, Paola De Anda, Gerardo García De La Garza, No Grupo, Melquiades Herrera, Santiago Itzcóatl, Marco Antonio Lara, Lauro López Sánchez, Israel Martínez, Nuria Montiel, Quirarte + Ornelas, Kasuya Sakai, Benito Salazar, Guillermo Santamarina, Álvaro Verduzco, Juan Pablo Villegas, Cynthia Yee.