Cage Music
Joe Jones
American, 1934–1993
c. 1965
A metal birdcage contains a painted plastic violin fitted with a battery-powered motor and striker, turning a familiar instrument into a trapped, mechanical source of sound that both produces and mocks musical performance.
The dark violin lies slumped like a captured bird against the cage’s rigid bars, the small motor and exposed wiring making the domestic object feel both vulnerable and ominously ready to sing.
Part of the Fluxus spirit, this sound sculpture uses found materials to collapse the line between object and performance, questioning virtuosity, authorship, and how everyday things can become artworks.
Medium
Metal birdcage containing painted plastic violin and battery-powered motor with striker
Dimensions
overall: 15 3/4 x 13 x 13" (40 x 33 x 33 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift
Accession
3135.2008
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
