An artist power couple, Janet Cardiff (born 1957) and George Bures Miller (born 1960) are recognised globally for their immersive, site-specific multimedia installations and sculptural sound pieces. 

The two met while studying at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, where Cardiff was studying printmaking and Miller painting. They later got married in 1983. 

A turning point for the artists’ careers was when they represented Canada at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001 with the installation Paradise Institute. 

The work was a plywood pavilion with a set of stairs that led to two rows of velvet cinema seats, featuring both a multi-genre film and a soundtrack played through headphones. They won the Premio Speciale and the Benesse Prize for it. 

Besides their collaborative work, each of the two also operates solo. 

Cardiff (listed as among the eight women in sound art to look out for) popularised the “audio walk” format, which she first began working with while a resident at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta. 

Under the audiobook-like format, users can follow a captivating narrative by the artist created for a specific urban space – like Central Park in New York or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A – via headphones. 

Her 2001 work, The Forty Part Motet, is likely to be her most famous work. 

In 2020, they were awarded the prestigious Wilhelm Lehmbruck Prize – a sculpture award typically awarded every five years that had previously been won by Jean Tinguely, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik and Rebecca Horn. 

“They create a new quality of sound as a sculptural material – the immateriality of sound becomes tangible and thus acquires a material presence in which the concept of sculpture is redefined,” read the announcement. 

The pair is currently based in British Columbia, Canada, and is represented by Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York. 

Continue reading to discover a selection of Cardiff and Miller’s works. 

FAMOUS WORKS BY JANET CARDIFF AND GEORGE BURES MILLER

‘THE MURDER OF CROWS’ (2008) 

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller
The Murder of Crows, 2008
Installation view Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany, 2009
98-channel audio installation including speakers, table, and chairs
Dimensions variable
Commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna for the 2008 Biennale of Sydney.
The installation was made possible with the generous support of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art
Contemporary, Vienna, Freunde Guter Musik e.V. Berlin, The Canada Council, and Bowers & Wilkins Speakers.
© Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller; Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photo by Roman Maerz.

First commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary for the 16th Biennale of Sydney in 2008, The Murder Of Crows is a three-part work immersive sound installation that runs for thirty minutes. 

The title is ambiguous and refers to a flock of crows, which is called a “murder”. 

The work is largely inspired by Francisco Goya’s c. 1799 etching, The Sleep Of Reason Produces False Monsters, where a man lays to sleep surrounded by flying owls and bats. 

Photo: Francisco de Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces False Monsters (No. 43)

Ninety-eight speakers are spread across the walls, seating, and floor. 

“Helpless to escape from her apocalyptic dreams,” Cardiff’s voice is broadcasted from a megaphone lying on its side, alluding to the protagonist in Goya’s work. 

Meanwhile, the speakers play a rich, electronic soundscape with sound effects such as factory noises, crashing waves, and flying birds. 

The work recently travelled to Matadero in Madrid, Spain, and is among the must-see global sound art exhibitions in 2022. 

‘THE FORTY PART MOTET (A reworking of “Spem in Alium” by Thomas Tallis 1556/1557)’ (2001)

Janet Cardiff
The Forty Part Motet (A reworking of “Spem in Alium” by Thomas Tallis 1556/1557), 2001
40 loud speakers mounted on stands, placed in an oval, amplifiers, playback computer
Duration: 14 min. loop with 11 min. of music and 3 min. of intermission
Dimensions variable
Sung by Salisbury Cathedral Choir
Recording and Postproduction by SoundMoves
Edited by George Bures Miller
Produced by Field Art Projects
The Forty Part Motet by Janet Cardiff was originally produced by Field Art Projects with the Arts Council of England, Canada House, the Salisbury Festival and Salisbury Cathedral Choir, BALTIC Gateshead, The New Art Gallery Walsall, and the NOW Festival Nottingham.
© Janet Cardiff; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Johanniterkirche, Feldkirch, 2005
Photo: Markus Tretter

Often considered Cardiff’s masterpiece (with Miller involved in editing), The First Part Motet features forty speakers on metal stands, placed in an oval shape, playing different singing voices in a reworked version of Thomas Tallis’ 16th-century “Spem In Alium”. 

The speakers are arranged in a way to reflect the groupings of the choirs, with each group including a soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass.

Across a duration of 14 minutes, viewers are encouraged to move through the space and experience it through the singers’ viewpoints as a “changing construct” – and from the centre position, they can hear all singing voices at once.  

The voices were sung by the Salisbury Cathedral Choir and were recorded at the Salisbury Mediaeval Hall in the UK. 

The work was first unveiled in 2001 at the National Gallery of Canada’s Rideau Chapel but has travelled widely over the years since then. It has made appearances at MoMA PS1, New York (2001), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2013), the High Museum of Art, Atlanta (2014), the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2018), and much more. 

The Forty Part Motet is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. 

See also: Art Or Sound? Susan Philipsz’s Sculpted Melancholy Works Exist As Both

‘THE PARADISE INSTITUTE’ (2001)

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller
The Paradise Institute, 2001
Wood, theater seats, video projection, headphones and mixed media
118 x 698 x 210 inches (299.72 x 1772.92 x 533.4 cm)
Duration: 13 minutes
© Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller; Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Installation views: Photo by Markus Tretter.

In 2001, Cardiff and Miller represented Canada at the Giardini in the 49th Venice Biennale, ultimately winning the “Premio Speciale” and the “Benesse Prize” for The Paradise Institute. 

Made out of plywood, The Paradise Institute is a theatre pavilion where a set of stairs lead to two rows of velvet cinema seats. Inside, the projection begins with a replica of a grand old movie theatre, granting viewers a hyper-perspective illusionary view. 

Headphones broadcast both the content of the screened film and “fake” disturbances from the audience, like a woman whispering, “You should have some of my popcorn.” 

The binaural surround sound creates two narratives and according to the artists, “The sense of isolation each might feel is broken by intrusions seemingly coming from inside the theatre.”

‘THE KILLING MACHINE’ (2007) 

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller
The Killing Machine, 2007
Pneumatics, robotics, electromagnetic beaters, dentist chair, electric guitar, CRT monitors, computer, various control systems, lights, and sound
Duration: approx. 5 minutes
9' 10" x 13' 1" x 8' 2" (118 x 157 x 98 cm)
© Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller; Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Photos: Seber Ugarte & Lorena López.

Cardiff and Miller’s The Killing Machine is partly inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1914 short story In The Penal Colony, which describes the execution of a prisoner using a torture and execution device.

In the kinetic installation, a red button indicates “press here”, and visitors are encouraged to interact with the work, which would activate the robotic arms above a dentist chair where the imagined victim awaits death. 

Meanwhile, Freida Abtan’s “Heartstrings” plays in the background. 

According to the artists, the work “brings to life a haunting spectacle that, in its futility, doubles as a critique of the sanctioned use of torture” and may reflect their views on the war in Iraq and abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison camp. 

Continue exploring sound art: 

• Exploring Carsten Nicolai’s Audiovisual Work
• Ryoji Ikeda’s Data-Centric Pursuits
• Art Or Sound? Susan Philipsz’s Sculpted Melancholy Works Exist As Both
• The Life and Work of Alvin Lucier
• Seeing is Revealing: In Conversation with Emmanuel Van der Auwera 
• Global Sound Art Exhibitions
• Iconic Works of Sound Art
• 8 Women in Sound Art
• Sonic Art: An Overview

Cover Credit:

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller
The Murder of Crows, 2008 

Installation view Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany, 2009
98-channel audio installation including speakers, table, and chairs
Dimensions variable

Commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna for the 2008 Biennale of Sydney.

The installation was made possible with the generous support of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna, Freunde Guter Musik e.V. Berlin, The Canada Council, and Bowers & Wilkins Speakers.

© Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller; Courtesy of the artists and Luhring Augustine, New York. Photo by Roman Maerz.

Writer | Bana Bissat

Bana Bissat is a Milan-based writer who reports on sound art for Sound of Life. She has written for Flash Art, Lampoon, and Cultured. @banabissat

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