felt had been lost in modern Western music, and "rediscover the meaning of music, which they thought had been minimized." Toward this end, Group Ongaku hosted performances by artists including John Cage, La Monte Young and George Brecht, and explored the possibilities of objets sonore or sound objects, a key element of Musique concrète. They pursued sounds that would stretch the meanings of both music and auditory experiences. Such non-musical sounds included a vacuum cleaner, radio, and kitchenware as well as experiments with magnetic audiotape. According to the artist:This explosion of activity [of Group Ongaku] was characteristic of our insatiable desire for new sound materials and new definitions (redefinition) of music itself. Every week we discovered some new technique [or] method for playing a previously unthought-of 'objet sonor,' and argue endlessly about how to extend its use, and what relationships of sound structure could be created between each performer. We experimented with the various components of every instrument we could think of, like using the inner action and frame of the piano, or using vocal and breathing sounds, creating sounds from the (usually unplayable) wooden parts of instruments, and every conceivable device of bowing and pizzicato on stringed instruments. At times we even turned our hands to making music with ordinary objects like tables and chairs, ash trays and a bunch of keys.During this time Shiomi was increasingly drawn to experiences that shifted attention away from the intentionality of "playing" instruments, and toward an awareness of the act of listening. Her 1961 compositions Mobile I, II, III extended performance off the stage and even outside of the performance hall, with performers positioned behind the stage curtain and even in the lobby. This strategy was intended to draw attention to the spatial aspects of sound, inciting audiences to understand the constructed environment and thereby "destroy the hierarchical representation of a musically privileged space." In a related vein, it was during this time that Shiomi had the revelation, while playing with keys during an improvisation session, that her focus had shifted from finding ways to produce sounds to experimenting with actions that produced sound incidentally. This was the line of investigation she took up upon Group Ongaku's dissolution in 1961. Action poems In 1962 Shiomi returned to her family home in Okayama, and found herself working in a different manner. Art historian Sally Kawamura states that Shiomi was inspired by her rural