Sound Art

When Caramoor first asked Trimpin to create a permanent sound art sculpture in celebration of its 75th Anniversary, the world-renowned sound artist thought about Caramoor’s acoustical environment: the birds singing, the wind in the trees, and the blissful absence of street noise. He then conceived of in“C”, the interactive kinetic sculpture shaped as a 16-foot high double letter C now located in the entry plaza, welcoming guests as they arrive. From the top of the C’s curve, 24 tuned metal bell chimes ranging over two octaves are suspended. Made out of steel and utilizing electromechanical components, in“C” interacts with visitors through a motion sensor (as you approach, its melodious chimes draw you closer) and through the physical activation of a push-button panel (don’t be shy!). The push-buttons activate the structure’s chimes to play pre-composed short pieces, each 1–2 minutes long. In addition to Trimpin’s music, Caramoor commissioned pieces from four composers: Christopher Cerrone, Anna Clyne, Missy Mazzoli, and Nico Muhly. As Caramoor continues to work with composers, the chime-piece library will grow. When in“C” is in its education mode, a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) keyboard enables visitors of any musical ability (or even none!) to make their own chime music, as the chimes respond to the strikes on the keyboard.

Trimpin is an internationally acclaimed composer, musician, visual artist, and inventor, engaged in commissions and exhibitions at venues around the world. Born in 1951 and based in Seattle for the past 25 years, he grew up near the German Black Forest, an area that has a history rich in mechanical music machines (think cuckoo clocks and pianolas, or player pianos). Fascinated with sound exploration in his early childhood, Trimpin often experimented with sound and distance in the German woods. Using the tools from a well-stocked cabinetry shop in his home (his father was a cabinet maker by trade), he took apart and reassembled old radios and musical instruments. By age 10, he was inventing his own eccentric instruments. The son of amateur musicians, the young Trimpin learned to play brass instruments but developed a mysterious allergy to metal that forced him to give up playing. He turned to electromechanical engineering. Self-taught, he mastered how the memory works on a pianola and devised a machine that could transcribe and preserve the piano paper rolls digitally. He became a leading specialist in combining musical compositions with computer technology.

Throughout his career, he has created installations that incorporate complex technological sculptural elements. On permanent display in his hometown area are: If VI was IX, a sound sculpture composed of 600 electric guitars at MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture); Hydraulis, an elegant interactive water sculpture at the Seattle Center Key Arena; and On: Matter, Monkeys, and the King, a multimedia kinetic wind-up-toy structure next to the rolling walkway in Sea-Tac International Airport.

In his 2014 In the Garden of Sonic Delights installation, The Pianohouse, Trimpin wanted to create a piece that every visitor could feel free to explore. What he created was a house-like structure from the frameworks of six upright pianos. “I try to use other ways to make the sculpture look not so much like a musical instrument, so people will actually play,” Trimpin explains. “My work is an ongoing exploration of the concepts of sound, vision, and movement,” he says, “experimenting with combinations that will introduce our senses of perception to a totally new experience.” A MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award recipient and a Guggenheim Fellow, Trimpin has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, San Francisco’s Exploratorium, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and Seattle Symphony, among others.