Vessel Orchestra
The Vessel Orchestra is a sound-based art installation created by British artist Oliver Beer. It is the first sound-oriented installation ever commissioned by the Met Breuer. The installation is composed of 32 objects from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each object has a microphone placed in its hollow space in order to capture the natural sounds that each piece resonates. Beer chose each object for its unique pitch. For instance, a clay vase by Joan Miró resonates the musical note low F. The internal microphones, which do not touch the objects, are connected to a mixer, which is hooked up to a keyboard, therefore allowing a musician to "play" the objects, creating music. The installation was opened to the general public on July 2, 2019, and was on display at the Met Breuer until August 11, 2019. During the exhibit the installation played repeatedly a 20-minute loop of a composition by Beer. In addition, the instrument was played on Friday evenings during live music performances by guest musicians. The installation includes two and a half octaves in a chromatic scale, from low C to high G. It took Beer four years to create the installation. Some of the objects in the installation had never been on display in the museum before.
List of works
Beer used the following objects in The Met's collection for Vessel Orchestra; works are listed as they appeared in the installation clockwise from the entrance.| Note | Work | Date | Artist / Location | Media | Accession number |
| B | Shiva vase | 1973 | Ceramic | ||
| C | Vase | 1986 | , Sinya Okayama | Stainless steel | |
| F | Trifoglio | 1969 | Ceramic | ||
| G♭ | Blue Mountain Horses | 1984 | Stoneware with colored glazes | ||
| A♭ | Scofield Thayer | 1923, cast 1924 | Bronze, glass | ||
| A | Squared Up | 1985 | Stoneware | ||
| D♭ | Rhyton in the shape of a bird | ca. early 1st millennium B.C. | Northwestern Iran | Ceramic | |
| A♭ | Mrs. Olin Levi Warner | 1886–87, cast 1897–98 | Bronze | ||
| C | Ewer | 19th century | Franchi and Son | Electroformed copper, silver plated and gilt | |
| D, E♭, D | The Ming Sisters | 2003 | Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint | ||
| G♭ | Canaanite jar | ca. 1500–1400 B.C. | Levant | Ceramic | |
| E | Storage jar decorated with mountain goats | ca. 3800–3700 B.C. | Central Iran | Ceramic, paint | |
| D♭ | Pot | 1975 | Stoneware | ||
| G | Vessel in form of female figure | ca. 7th–6th century B.C. | Iran, Luristan, Chekka Sabz | Ceramic | |
| C | Vase | 1901 | Porcelain | ||
| B♭ | Guild vessel | 19th century | Germany | Pewter | |
| A | Axe Vessel | 1986 | Earthenware | ||
| B♭ | Fish | ca. 1947 | Earthenware, lustered | ||
| F | Vase | 1942 | , Josep Llorens Artigas | Painted earthenware | |
| B | The Virgin | 1906, cast 1909 | Bronze | ||
| E♭ | Vase with archaistic patterns | Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | China | Porcelain with green glaze and gilding | |
| F | Temple 7 | 1977 | Earthenware | ||
| G♭ | Spouted jar | ca. 9th–7th century B.C. | Iran, Tepe Sialk | Ceramic, paint | |
| E | Ewer | 19th century | Franchi and Son | Electroformed copper, silver plated | |
| D♭ | Cooking pot | ca. late 8th–7th century B.C. | Levant, Lachish | Cermanic | |
| D | Jar with geometric designs | ca. 5300–4300 B.C. | Central Iran | Ceramic, paint | |
| G | Vase with performance of dragon boat | Qing dynasty, Kangxi period | China | Porcelain painted with overglaze polychrome enamels | |
| E♭ | Vessel #1063 | 1990 | Electroplated copper foil, enamel | ||
| G | Vase | ca. 1900–1910 | Pewter | ||
| E | Measure | 1854–93 | Pewter |