Psyché Tropes Episode 8
11pm, 28 November 2022 on Resonance 104.4FM
Psyché Tropes Episode 8 presented by Steven McInerney, features a selection of work from Harry Bertioa's Sonambient archive. Born in 1915, Bertoia was an Italian born American artist, metal worker and sound sculptor. Starting out as a painting student in the 30’s he diverted his efforts to jewelry making, and eventually moved to California to work for Ray and Charles Eames at the Molded Plywood division and even made Ray Eames’ wedding ring.
In the 1950’s he moved to Pennsylvania where he designed five wire pieces that became known as the Bertoia Collection. Among these was the famous diamond chair, a fluid sculptural form made from a yielded lattice work of steel where he achieved commercial success. It allowed Bertoia to focus exclusively on sculpture, where he produced over 50 commissioned works. During this process, he made a personal discovery; by clamping a wire and bending it, he created a unique sound.
This led to him experimenting in the field of sound sculptures which consisted of tall vertical metal rods on flat bases and other various gong-like metal structures. By manipulating these sculptures by hand, he created his own style of music playing a number of concerts and even produced a series of 11 albums, in which he entitled ’Sonambient’. In 2014, Important recordings re-issued all eleven releases from which have been selected for a one hour deep listening experience.
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