The latest and 12th in the series of roof garden installations has just opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by Jennie C. Jones, Ensemble includes three very large sculptures whose powder-coated aluminum surfaces, in two shades of red, are paired with concrete meant to look like the travertine used in the museum, one of multiple references to the space beneath. Another is the mechanics of the sculptures, which like giant instruments, and "informed by observations of the stringed instruments in The Met’s Musical Instruments galleries," reads the release, adding texture to the term site-responsive installation.
Each of the three forms on the roof garden is inspired by a different instrument: the trapezoidal zither, an Aeolian harp, and a one-string, paired with a floor piece meant to act as a conductor. The music they make, however, is up to the elements, visitors, and the city.
