Audio Arts volume 1 to 21, originally published as an audio cassette magazine in 1973.
William Furlong belonged to the generation of British artists such as Gilbert & George, Bruce McLean and Richard Long, who explored new concepts of sculpture. Furlong developed the use of sound as a medium and has himself become synonymous with the use of audio in art.
In 1973 William Furlong and Barry Barker established Audio Arts as a cassette-based audio magazine. It provided a dedicated space for artists and art-world professionals to speak about their work in a free and unmediated way.
Audio Arts sought to document contemporary artistic activity by recording artists’ voices, generally captured in close proximity to their work. It developed to comprise interviews with artists and curators, commentary by artists on their works, documentation of major international art events, collaborations with artists, sound performances and other sound works.
The magazine was in continuous publication for 33 years and ran to 24 volumes, each of four issues, alongside more than 60 supplements. It recognised the potential of the then relatively new audio-cassette technology, which enabled the production of the sound magazine at a low cost and allowed for relatively easy international distribution.
Audio Arts arguably represents the most comprehensive and coherently-focused sound archive devoted to art and artists in the world, featuring exclusive contributions from more than 900 individual artists including Joseph Beuys, Ian Breakwell, Tracey Emin and Andy Warhol.