Sound art pioneer Maryanne Amacher celebrated in new literary volume

Weaving interviews through private writings, letters, manifestors and more.

Maryanne Amacher is the subject of a new volume edited by Amy Cimini and Bill Dietz, published via Blank Forms this December.

Born in Pennsylvania during 1938, Amacher originally studied piano, before becoming drawn to electronic music explorations during the 1960s.

She remains known for her site specific sound-installation – which helped to pave the way for what would later be dubbed ‘sound art’ – and her explorations of how sound and technology can impact our experience of space.

“Amacher’s electronic music work is paralyzing for its combination of extreme sound and precise architecture. The resulting propulsion is unrelenting and subterranean. This is a woman who would sleep in many of the studios in which she worked, forbidding anyone to disturb her,” recalls Diamanda Galás.

However, Amacher also worked extensively with psychoacoustics, discovering that certain combinations of frequencies could cause the ear to produce and amplify tones of its own. Unlike tinnitus, this was actually the sign of a healthy ear.

Across its 398 pages, Maryanne Amacher – Selected Writings and Interviews brings together private writings, letters, program notes, manifestos and proposals for unreleased projects, framed by interviews from throughout Amacher’s life.

Pre-order Maryanne Amacher – Selected Writings and Interviews here in advance of its 8th December publication, and check out the cover below.