Motor Cocktail: Aluminum Piano concerts
François and Bernard Baschet’s (b. 1917 and 1920) "Aluminum Piano" (1962) is one of the most arresting and fascinating works included in "Motor Cocktail: Sound and Movement in Art of the 1960s" (Jul 2 – Oct 30). With its five large metal cones and slender metal tendrils mounted on a small keyboard, the work has the appearance of a large flower. When Aluminum Piano was presented as part of the exhibition, Structures for Sound: Musical Instruments by François and Bernard Baschet at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1965 and later at the Arts Club Chicago in 1969, they invited musicians to perform on these ‘sound structures.’ Motor Cocktail continues this tradition: Chicago musician have been invited to play and accompany François and Bernard Baschet’s Aluminum Piano in the exhibition space.