Trimpin: Fire Organ

December 14, 2005 - April 16, 2006
Part of THE TRIMPIN PROJECT, a two-year presentation of Trimpin's work in the Pacific Northwest

The Museum of Glass presents Fire Organ, a sculpture that is composed of a conglomeration of glass tubes of varying lengths, reminiscent of organ pipes, and uses heat to produce sound. The "instrument" plays a brief score composed of low, solemn notes. "I never use synthesized sounds, only acoustic or natural sounds," says Trimpin.

Fire Organ was housed in the Hot Shop to capitalize on the acoustics of the Cone and maximize the sound-generating experience. Trimpin was featured as a visiting artist in the Hot Shop February 8 - 12, 2006.

About The Trimpin Project

Trimpin is a German-born composer and sculptor who has lived and worked in Seattle since 1979. He is an independent researcher and experimenter in musical, acoustical, and sound sculpture design, combining music composition and kinetics with computer technology. In 1997, he received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly known as a "genius" grant for his extraordinary mind and talent. Trimpin has presented artist residencies, performances, site-specific sound installations, and collaborations throughout the world, but seldom has been shown in Seattle, the city in which he chose to live.

In July 2005, and continuing into 2007, a consortium of ten art institutions and organizations will stage sequential exhibitions of newly commissioned work as well as major work from the past. The collaborative project will honor Trimpin's life and the work he has created in this city for the last 25 years through an institutional cross-sharing of educational opportunities, diverse audiences and a culminating publication.

The following exhibition schedule lists the sequential exhibitions to occur in each of the institutions and organizations throughout the region.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE 2005
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WAPHFFFT
Consolidated Works, Seattle, WA, Sheng High
Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art, Tacoma, WA, Fire Organ

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE 2006
Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, WA, Archival Investigations
Washington State University Museum of Art, Pullman, WA, Sheng High
Suyama Space, Seattle, WA, Shhh
Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Vancouver, WA, Klavier Nonette
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, Klompen
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA, Conloninpurple
Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT, Sheng High