Instrument for Sound and Room for Clutter

Description:

Ken Gerberick presented two installations in the Western Front gallery. 

Instrument for Sound was an acoustic audio sculpture suspended from the hammer rack of an upright piano. A number of real and toy musical instruments—the largest being an upright bass—hung from the four braces of the hammer rack. A cassette tape was implanted in one of the hanging guitars, and when rattled, activated a recording by Gerberick’s noise band No Idea. Displayed at the back of the gallery, the assemblage hung nine-feet off the ground and functioned as a playable instrument. 

The second installation was Room for Clutter—an alcove carpeted with worn rugs containing a jumble of antique furniture, and audio equipment made in the 1920s and 1930s. To create this environment, Gerberick used only British- and North American-made objects to reflect a declining empire and an ascending one. By presenting antique equipment in a contemporary setting, Gergerick aimed to reflect on the bias of recorded history. 

Curated by Annette Hurtig.