Dr Caleb Kelly

Biography

Caleb Kelly is an academic, event director and curator working in the area of the sound arts. In 2009 he published his first book, entitled Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction, through MIT Press. He has also edited an anthology, to be published in February 2011, entitled Sound (MIT Press and Whitechapel Gallery in London). Most recently he produced a project for ISSUE Project Room in New York, including a talk, the programming of a music event and the curating of an exhibition. He also guest programmed at the Sydney Biennale 2010 as part of the Superdeluxe events at Artspace. Kelly has curated sound exhibitions at Artspace, the Performance Space and ICAN. He was also the director of the sound gallery Pelt and director of the series impermanent.audio, which ran for six years. This event is often referenced as the turning point in the Sydney sound scene as audiences were directed to listen closely to abstract audio. He co-directed the national experimental music festival What is Music?, bringing to Australia numerous experimental musicians from Japan, New Zealand, Europe, America and Canada. Currently Kelly is funded by ArtsNSW to co-produce the adventurous music series High Reflections.

Research

Caleb Kelly's research interests are focused in the sound arts, contemporary art, media arts and art theory. His research has led to a rethinking of how art is listened to, historically and in contemporary practice. Kelly is currently researching in the area of sound in art and in the practices of experimental music. In 2009 he published his first book, Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction, through MIT Press and he edited an anthology entitled Sound, to be published in 2011 by MIT Press and Whitechapel Gallery in London.

Significant Exhibitions

Kelly, C. & White, A. (2009-2011) 16 Performance Events, High Reflections

Kelly, C. (2010) Hard Hat & Holy Balm. Performance Event, superdeluxe@artspace, Biennale of Sydney

Kelly, C. (2010) Marina Rosenfeld (NYC), LoVid (NYC), Kusum (AUST.). Event for ISSUE Project Room, New York.

Kelly, C. (2006) Mistral: acoustic sound. Artspace, Sydney.

Kelly, C. (2000-2006) Curator. impermanent.audio.

Kelly, C. (2005-2006) Curator. PELT Gallery

Kelly, C. (2005) Typhoon: Performing Sound, Artspace, Sydney.

Kelly, C. & Ambarchi, O. & Avenaim, R. (2001/2002/2004) Co-curator What is Music? festival.

Significant Publications

Art sonore ou son dans l'art?' in Bruits: Echos du patrimoine culturel immateriel, Musee d'ethnographie Neuchatel, 2011

(Edited)Sound,Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2011

'Sound in Art', ed. Sound, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011

'Supercool', Broadsheet, Adelaide, 2010. ISSN 0819 677X

Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2009

'Can Someone Please Turn the Work Up:, The Exhibition of Sound in Australian Contemporary Art', Art Monthly, November,2009

'The performance of Australian Experimental Musics: From Shattered Glass to Feedback Instruments', in Sounds of then, sounds of now: Popular Music in Australia, eds. Shane Homan & Tony Mitchell, ACYS, Hobart, 2008

'Darkness awaits: Brent Grayburn's Flicker', Column, no. 2, 2008

'Mistral: Acoustic Sound', in Artspace Projects 2006, Artspace, Sydney, 2007

'Yasunao tone: Technology/Noise', in Making A Home:, Japanese Contemporary Arts in New York (curated by Eric Shiner) New York, Japan Society and Yale University Press, Japan Society, 2007

'The Object of Performance: Performativity in Contemporary Laptop Performance', Contemporary Music Review, 22: 4 (2003)

Research Supervision

Gretchen Riordan, PhD

Scott Barnes, MFA, 'Other Voices'

Julian Calaghan, MFA, 'untitled'

Awards & Grants

2010, ArtsNSW project grant, High Reflections
2006, Australia Council: Presentation/Promotion, impermanent.audio
2005, Australia Council: Presentation/Promotion, impermanent.audio

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