Music is not enough

The first event in Argentina that ever included arte sonoro in its programming was Experimenta. Through its concerts and workshops, it was a milestone for the argentinean experimental music at the end of the 90s. Since its first edition in 1997, it challenged circles and procedures already stabilized in music, bringing together artists from different generations and sonic searches. It was in its year 2000 edition that the festival incorporated arte sonoro as one of its tags for the first time. What does it happen when it becomes necessary, from one moment to the next, to use a new expression to name an artistic activity? That music is not enough is the hypothesis of this outline of the sound art history in Argentina, which aims to illuminate the foundational moment when that category arte sonoro began to be used in the programming of events and festivals. From the observation of the textual framework around works and events -that is, catalogs, critical texts or press releases- we will see that, since 2000 in Argentina, the initial circulation of the expression arte sonoro shows what could be understood as musical origin, as a reaction to what was established, and as one of the features that contribute to the particular identity of early Argentine arte sonoro, in contrast with other histories -from other geographies- that usually link the origin of sound art with art installations and the participation of galleries and museums.