Larnie Fox presents ‘Contraptions’ his installation of invented instruments at C4NM’s Window Gallery! Reception followed by talk/demo by Fox
Artist’s Statement ~ Contraptions
What I’m doing is fun. It has developed, gradually, over many years, starting in Salt Lake City in the early 80s when we had heard about “performance art”. We didn’t have any idea what it was, but we did it anyway, and had a blast. My instrument building work has evolved from hacking old mechanical devices we used in performances, like 8-track tape players or TVs, to working with more natural materials like bamboo, sticks, and feathers. I like common materials, such as plywood, string, and hot glue and I love to work with recycled materials like coat hangers, rubber bands and found hardware
I’ve never formally studied sculpture, or electronics, or sound, so I always feel like an explorer, discovering things that are already well known, but are new to me. My studio feels a bit like a mad scientists’ lab. My lack of expertise forces me to keep things basic, so folks can see how the instruments work. I approach these things in new ways, so that folks can see the materials and the objects created from them in new ways as well
I am happy if there is a little pathos to my work. Perhaps they look like a child made them, or perhaps they look like they are ready to break. I am happy if there’s a little vulnerability to the work. I have no desire for my work to be polished or slick
I love making things, then turning them over to collaborators to see what they do with them ~ it is always surprising! It is akin to the joy one feels after giving a successful present to a loved one. What I am doing is fun. Deep fun
Larnie Fox
8/10/24
Bio
Larnie Fox is a visual and sound artist known for his large-scale bamboo sculptures, kinetic sculptures, sound installations, performances, and paintings. After earning an MFA in painting from the University of Utah, he taught at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, and later directed children’s programs at the Palo Alto Art Center. He also served as the Executive Director of Arts Benicia in Benicia, California, from 2010 to 2015
Fox’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions and performances in the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally. He created and led the Crank Ensemble, a group that performs on hand-cranked instruments he built. Currently, he is inventing instruments, composing, and performing with the new-music group the Contraption Quartet, a sound art collaboration that explores sound and visual performance using low-tech handmade instruments and sound sculptures
Recent collaborations with his wife, Bodil Fox, include interactive sound sculpture shows at Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland and NY2CA Gallery in Benicia, titled Probability, and Probability 2. Their joint projects also encompass dicewalks, interactive installations, residencies, performances as a duo as well as with the Contraption Quartet and the Crank Ensemble. They recently returned from a month-long residency at Mas de Grape near Aix en Provence, France, where they created installations using found materials at an old farmstead. Their sound installations are currently on view at Zaprice Castle and the Volčji Potok Arboretum as part of the six-month-long, multi-venue art project Dobre Novice in Kamnik, Slovenia
Larnie and Bodil Fox live and work together in an old house near the water in Benicia, California