From the inception of the LP until the popularization of digital recordings, political speeches were disseminated on records as a means of political communication, entrepreneurial efforts, and/or as a way to memorialize political figures or events. Sharon Hayes has collected hundreds of these records, which she uses to make the series of works An Ear to the Sounds of Our History. Hayes configures the record covers in small groupings that she presents as wall-mounted displays. The groupings, which the artist refers to as “sentences,” draw complex associations between cover images and texts, as well as political issues ranging from the international unrest of 1968 and the Civil Rights movement in the United States to the antiwar movement. In doing so, the works both illuminate and reimagine the historical and social contexts behind the speeches. Six “sentences” will be on view in Seoul.
An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (The Essence of Americanism), 2011. vintage record covers. 188 × 63 cm
An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (Politics in USA), 2011. vintage record covers. 188 × 63 cm
An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (The Big News), 2011. vintage record covers. 94 × 63 cm
An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (The World in sound), 2011. vintage record covers. 220 × 63 cm
An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (A Time to Keep), 2011. vintage record covers. 94 × 63 cm
