Artwork copyright Dan Senn. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1999.

Artwork copyright Dan Senn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 1998.

Artwork copyright Dan Senn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Artwork copyright Dan Senn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2017.

Vertical Penduling with Patty Quake, 1999

Dan Senn
American (born 1951)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

About the Artwork

Vertical Penduling with Patty Quake is an interactive electronic and mechanical sound sculpture created by artist Dan Senn. Four compact disc (CD) players play musical scores consisting of sub-audio pulses. The pulses control sixteen pine-wood beaters suspended on nylon lines, which strike bells and piano wire to create musical sounds. Viewers can select one of five musical scores that range in duration from fourteen minutes to one hour.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State Arts Commission.

About the Artist

Senn studied music (composition, French Horn, conducting) and art (ceramics) at the University of Wisconsin and at the University of Illinois. He holds a Doctorate in Music Composition and Ceramic Sculpture (minor) from the University of Illinois. Senn lived in Tacoma, Western Washington, during the 1990s and 2000s, and he was the first Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington at Tacoma in 1998. He is currently based in Prague (in the Czech Repubic, Europe) and Wisconsin.