Vessel Orchestra
The Vessel Orchestra is a sound-based art installation created by British artist Oliver Beer. It is the first sound-oriented installation ever commissioned by the Met Breuer. The installation is composed of 32 objects from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each object has a microphone placed in its hollow space in order to capture the natural sounds that each piece resonates. Beer chose each object for its unique pitch. For instance, a clay vase by Joan Miró resonates the musical note low F. The internal microphones, which do not touch the objects, are connected to a mixer, which is hooked up to a keyboard, therefore allowing a musician to "play" the objects, creating music. The installation was opened to the general public on July 2, 2019, and[1] was on display at the Met Breuer until August 11, 2019.[2] During the exhibit the installation played repeatedly a 20-minute loop of a composition by Beer. In addition, the instrument was played on Friday evenings during live music performances by guest musicians.[3] The installation includes two and a half octaves in a chromatic scale, from low C to high G.[1] It took Beer four years to create the installation. Some of the objects in the installation had never been on display in the museum before.[4]
List of works
Beer used the following objects in The Met's collection for Vessel Orchestra; works are listed as they appeared in the installation clockwise from the entrance.[5]
| Note (SPN) | Work | Date | Artist / Location | Media | Accession number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B3 | Shiva vase | 1973 | Ettore Sottsass | Ceramic | 2017.204 |
| C4 | Vase | 1986 | Alessandro Mendini, Sinya Okayama | Stainless steel | 1988.241 |
| F4 | Trifoglio | 1969 | Enzo Mari | Ceramic | 1988.184.4 |
| G♭4 | Blue Mountain Horses | 1984 | Rudy Autio | Stoneware with colored glazes | 1998.534 |
| A♭3 | Scofield Thayer | 1923, cast 1924 | Gaston Lachaise | Bronze, glass | 1984.433.30 |
| A3 | Squared Up | 1985 | William Daley | Stoneware | 2000.527.1 |
| D♭3 | Rhyton in the shape of a bird | ca. early 1st millennium B.C. | Northwestern Iran | Ceramic | 59.95 |
| A♭2 | Mrs. Olin Levi Warner | 1886–87, cast 1897–98 | Olin Levi Warner | Bronze | 98.9.6 |
| C3 | Ewer | 19th century | Franchi and Son | Electroformed copper, silver plated and gilt | 73.8.52 |
| D2, E♭2, D3 | The Ming Sisters | 2003 | Betty Woodman | Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint | 2003.413a–c |
| G♭2 | Canaanite jar | ca. 1500–1400 B.C. | Levant | Ceramic | 2001.761.9 |
| E2 | Storage jar decorated with mountain goats | ca. 3800–3700 B.C. | Central Iran | Ceramic, paint | 59.52 |
| D♭2 | Pot | 1975 | Juan Hamilton | Stoneware | 1978.496.2 |
| G2 | Vessel in form of female(?) figure | ca. 7th–6th century B.C. | Iran, Luristan, Chekka Sabz | Ceramic | 43.89.3 |
| C2 | Vase | 1901 | Louis Majorelle | Porcelain | 2013.245.5 |
| B♭3 | Guild vessel | 19th century | Germany | Pewter | 1974.28.107 |
| A2 | Axe Vessel | 1986 | Gordon Baldwin | Earthenware | 1998.289 |
| B♭2 | Fish | ca. 1947 | Beatrice Wood | Earthenware, lustered | 47.126.2 |
| F2 | Vase | 1942 | Joan Miró, Josep Llorens Artigas | Painted earthenware | 1989.402 |
| B2 | The Virgin | 1906, cast 1909 | Andre O'Connor | Bronze | 18.38 |
| E♭3 | Vase with archaistic patterns | Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95) | China | Porcelain with green glaze and gilding (Jingdezhen ware) | 14.40.400 |
| F3 | Temple 7 | 1977 | William Wyman | Earthenware | 1980.479 |
| G♭3 | Spouted jar | ca. 9th–7th century B.C. | Iran, Tepe Sialk | Ceramic, paint | 39.60.9 |
| E3 | Ewer | 19th century | Franchi and Son | Electroformed copper, silver plated | 73.8.8 |
| D♭4 | Cooking pot | ca. late 8th–7th century B.C. | Levant, Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweil, Israel) | Cermanic | 34.126.43 |
| D4 | Jar with geometric designs | ca. 5300–4300 B.C. | Central Iran | Ceramic, paint | 60.61.3 |
| G4 | Vase with performance of dragon boat | Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period (1662–1722) | China | Porcelain painted with overglaze polychrome enamels (Jingdezhen ware) | 14.40.83 |
| E♭4 | Vessel #1063 | 1990 | June Schwarcz | Electroplated copper foil, enamel | 1995.439 |
| G3 | Vase | ca. 1900–1910 | Archibald Knox | Pewter | 1981.91 |
| E4 | Measure | 1854–93 | Carl Adolph Ferdinand Heidorn | Pewter | 1990.199.11 |
References
- ^ a b Smith, Steve (2019-07-10). "In Review: Oliver Beer, Vessel Orchestra". National Sawdust Log. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Walls, Seth Colter (2019-07-16). "He Turned the Met Museum's Collection Into an Orchestra". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Schaefer, John (2019-07-12). "The Secret Sound Of The Vessel Orchestra". WNYC. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Gopnik, Adam (2019-08-12). "Making Music from the Met's Forgotten Treasures". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra (Exhibition guide). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2019. OCLC 1109395603.
Further reading
- Downey, Walker (2019-07-30). "In Resonance: Oliver Beer at the Met Breuer". Art in America. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
- Higgie, Jennifer (2019-02-19). "Oliver Beer's Life in Sound". Frieze. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- Kim, Michelle (2019-07-25). "What Does an Ancient Pot Sound Like?". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
- Roffino, Sara (2019-07-15). "Oliver Beer: The Music Maker". Cultured Magazine. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
- Rosati, Lauren (2019-07-02). "In Conversation: Oliver Beer's Vessel Orchestra and the Democracy of Sound". The Met. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
External links
- "Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra". The Met.