Two Rod Tonal with Cattail Tops (Sonambient Sculpture)

After a successful partnership with furniture designer Knoll International, Harry Bertoia moved towards more sculptural works in the early 1960s. His monumental sound sculptures, ranging from several inches to twenty feet tall, of which the present example is a personable 6 1/2 feet, was an innovative foray into sound sculpture, which the artist coined “Sonambient”. Slender metal rods, capped with beryllium copper heads, are suggestive of cattails, and the bend and strike of the rods as one moves through or past them creates ambient sound. Each sculpture has its own reverberating tonal quality, and the delicacy of this pair of rods evoke a gentle, melodic tone.
Bertoia would go on to explore these resounding sculptures for the rest of his life, teaching himself to play the sculptures like an instrument and recording a number of albums. His Sonambient orchestral records are celebrated in the world of experimental sound art, and their far-reach in the world of music inherently reflects the sculpture’s universal appeal: “It’s not like playing piano or guitar, where you purposely end notes in order to start other notes, and that’s what Harry liked about it. He loved the idea that the sculpture was free to do its own thing” (V. Bertoia, quoted in M. Masters, “Sculptures you can hear: Why Harry Bertoia’s ‘Sonambient’ art still resonates”, The Washington Post, 27 March 2015).