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Collection by Diana Budds

Captivating Sound Sculptures by Design Icon Harry Bertoia

Harry Bertoia's Sonambient sound sculptures create an all-encompassing experience that appeals to the visual, aural, and tactile senses. "It becomes an entire physical experience," says his daughter, Celia Bertoia.

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In 1974, Bertoia began work on a commission for the Standard Oil Building in Chicago. To complement Edward Durell Stone's modernist masterwork, Bertoia envisioned a collection of eleven sound sculptures stationed in a 4,000-square-foot reflecting pool at the skyscraper's foot.
In 1974, Bertoia began work on a commission for the Standard Oil Building in Chicago. To complement Edward Durell Stone's modernist masterwork, Bertoia envisioned a collection of eleven sound sculptures stationed in a 4,000-square-foot reflecting pool at the skyscraper's foot.
The Standard Oil Sonambient sculptures are composed of rods ranging from four to 16 feet tall. At a June 2013 auction at Wright, fragments and maquettes of the sculpture sold for $12,500 to $374,500. "No other works in Bertoia's extensive oeuvre match the impressive scale of the Sonambients for the Standard Oil Commission," stated the catalog.
The Standard Oil Sonambient sculptures are composed of rods ranging from four to 16 feet tall. At a June 2013 auction at Wright, fragments and maquettes of the sculpture sold for $12,500 to $374,500. "No other works in Bertoia's extensive oeuvre match the impressive scale of the Sonambients for the Standard Oil Commission," stated the catalog.
It took 8,000 pounds of beryllium copper and 5,000 pounds of naval brass to produce the sculpture. Responding to the environment, the sculpture is activated by Chicago's notorious winds. The plaza was redesigned in 1994 and the sculpture was reconfigured and some portions removed.
It took 8,000 pounds of beryllium copper and 5,000 pounds of naval brass to produce the sculpture. Responding to the environment, the sculpture is activated by Chicago's notorious winds. The plaza was redesigned in 1994 and the sculpture was reconfigured and some portions removed.
Bertoia housed many Sonambient sculptures in a barn near his home. His daughter Celia fondly recalls exploring the space. "Harry always told people he saved the best ones for the barn," she says. "When I was in high school, my girlfriends and I would sneak into the barn. We’d go running around in there and bang on all the different sculptures and just have a cacophony of sound in there—oh, it was fabulous! The whole concept is to have a sculpture that is not only visually pleasing but it’s auditory and tactile. If you were standing on the floor and all these pieces were toning you could even feel the vibration in the floor. It got in your whole body." "In the barn, because there were so many of them there, it created this amazing aura and mood, almost spiritual," Celia says. "It would affect people differently: A jet pilot comes in there and he thinks it sounds like roaring planes. A group of nuns came in the barn and they said it sounded like church bells chiming. Each person interprets it in his or her own way."
Bertoia housed many Sonambient sculptures in a barn near his home. His daughter Celia fondly recalls exploring the space. "Harry always told people he saved the best ones for the barn," she says. "When I was in high school, my girlfriends and I would sneak into the barn. We’d go running around in there and bang on all the different sculptures and just have a cacophony of sound in there—oh, it was fabulous! The whole concept is to have a sculpture that is not only visually pleasing but it’s auditory and tactile. If you were standing on the floor and all these pieces were toning you could even feel the vibration in the floor. It got in your whole body." "In the barn, because there were so many of them there, it created this amazing aura and mood, almost spiritual," Celia says. "It would affect people differently: A jet pilot comes in there and he thinks it sounds like roaring planes. A group of nuns came in the barn and they said it sounded like church bells chiming. Each person interprets it in his or her own way."
Wright will auction Sonambient sculptures that are part of the Dr. Martyna Miskinis Collection on September 23, 2014.
Wright will auction Sonambient sculptures that are part of the Dr. Martyna Miskinis Collection on September 23, 2014.
"The big pieces are a result of metal knowledge and physical forces; they can be any size, on up and up...They too are a part of me, of course; however I am following certain laws of metal and its reaction to bending, falling, cutting, etc. Thus when these objects are played on by the wind and sun they will move, change shape, but always obey the law by which they were created."—Harry Bertoia, as quoted in Wright's "The Standard Oil Commission" catalog.
"The big pieces are a result of metal knowledge and physical forces; they can be any size, on up and up...They too are a part of me, of course; however I am following certain laws of metal and its reaction to bending, falling, cutting, etc. Thus when these objects are played on by the wind and sun they will move, change shape, but always obey the law by which they were created."—Harry Bertoia, as quoted in Wright's "The Standard Oil Commission" catalog.