Anderson’s hybrid practice has spanned music, performance, sculpture, and video, among other art forms, over a four-decade career that originated in the art scene of New York’s SoHo in the 1970s. Anderson, a classically trained violinist, created this work so that she could play duets on a single instrument. A small speaker concealed inside the body of the violin plays pre-recorded music on a loop, leaving the strings free to be played live in the conventional manner. In performances the artist has also talked and sang a duet with the instrument as it seemingly produced music on its own.

Gallery label from

Studio Visit: Selected Gifts from Agnes Gund, 2018

Medium Modified violin with built-in speaker and amplifier (sound)
Duration 23 x 10 x 4 1/2 in., 31 min.
Credit Acquired through the generosity of Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, and the Rockefeller Fund
Object number 192.2007
Department Media and Performance

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