Harry Bertoia

Beverly H. Twitchell, Bertoia: The Metalworker, New York, 2019, pp. 245 and 248 (for a related example)

While Bertoia’s Barn housed mostly sonambient or “tonal” sculptures, gong forms also accented the space.  The present gong spent a portion of its life inside this sacred space and is emblematic of the artist’s fascination with the confluence of sound and form.  This gong is characterized by a narrow vertical slit that flows into a rounded negative space surrounding the point through which the suspension cord is threaded.  This visual device evokes nature in an abstract way, recalling the delicate stem and veins of a leaf.  But its presence is strategically important to its function: by splitting the gong, Bertoia effectively lengthens the metal, which creates more vibrations when sounded.  Compared to gongs without slits, those with slits produce a much richer tonal experience.