Partition of Sound
Artist:
Harry Bertoia
(American, 1915 - 1978)
Date: 1973
Dimensions:
h. 28 in. (71.1 cm); w. 36 in. (91.4 cm); d. 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Cadwallader
Object number: 2004.19.1
Copyright: © Estate of Harry Bertoia / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Provenance: Acquired by the donor from the artist's studio
Label Text
"We live in a new age with sounds never before heard; they can be strident, tranquil, violent, fluctuating, depending on the metal, the size of the rods."
"I accidentally struck one rod when I wanted to bend it. The sound echoed in my mind for a very long time. Then it initiated a deliberate gesture in search of understanding what a group of wires would do — and that process is still going on."
- Harry Bertoia
In 1959, Bertoia inadvertently stumbled upon the tonal properties of metal. While making a sculpture from wire rods, he tried to bend a rod, which broke and struck another rod, creating a sound. Excited by this discovery, he began developing tonal sculptures from groups of various types of metal rods that could be activated by touching, striking, or brushing against them or, when installed outdoors, by the wind. In 1968-69, he built a barn to house the sound sculptures and included a recording studio. By the 1970s, these tonal sculptures became the primary focus of his art. During that decade, he gave several concerts for visitors and friends, and produced eleven albums of recorded sounds from the sculptures. Bertoia was able to create many different tones by varying the types of metal, their scale, shape, thickness and positioning, and by adding metal caps to some. The weight of the caps would cause the rods to gently knock against one another. To refer to the tonal and spatial properties of each sound produced, Bertoia trademarked the term "Sonambient®."
Bertoia is also recognized worldwide for his invention of the "Bertoia Chair," a popular diamond-shaped chair made from polished steel wire.
(David Rubin, 2008)
"I accidentally struck one rod when I wanted to bend it. The sound echoed in my mind for a very long time. Then it initiated a deliberate gesture in search of understanding what a group of wires would do — and that process is still going on."
- Harry Bertoia
In 1959, Bertoia inadvertently stumbled upon the tonal properties of metal. While making a sculpture from wire rods, he tried to bend a rod, which broke and struck another rod, creating a sound. Excited by this discovery, he began developing tonal sculptures from groups of various types of metal rods that could be activated by touching, striking, or brushing against them or, when installed outdoors, by the wind. In 1968-69, he built a barn to house the sound sculptures and included a recording studio. By the 1970s, these tonal sculptures became the primary focus of his art. During that decade, he gave several concerts for visitors and friends, and produced eleven albums of recorded sounds from the sculptures. Bertoia was able to create many different tones by varying the types of metal, their scale, shape, thickness and positioning, and by adding metal caps to some. The weight of the caps would cause the rods to gently knock against one another. To refer to the tonal and spatial properties of each sound produced, Bertoia trademarked the term "Sonambient®."
Bertoia is also recognized worldwide for his invention of the "Bertoia Chair," a popular diamond-shaped chair made from polished steel wire.
(David Rubin, 2008)
Not on view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
