Painting in sound: Aural history and audio art

Placing aural history practice in the context of natural and electro-acoustic sound communication, this paper explores the intersection of audio art and aural history. It includes an analysis of the creative opportunities that electroacoustic and digital media offer aural historians, a brief introduction to pioneering works on the borderland between aural history and audio art, and a short history of the author’s own works in this field. The article concludes with an explanation of the benefits of creative work in audio art to oral historians, including a greater sensitivity to the power and wonder of sound communication, expanded audiences, and an enhanced appreciation of the tools of the aural historian’s craft.