edoardo tresoldi constructs ethereal wire pipe organ at the eaux claires festival

italian artist edoardo tresoldi has created an enormous wire-mesh pipe organ, erected at the heart of the 2016 eaux claires festival in eau clair, wisconsin. the eaux claires festival is held every august, and is co-produced by musicians justin vernon (bon iver) and aaron & bryce dessner (the national). 

the awesome structure is imbued with an unshakable air of fragility
all images by edoardo tresoldi

entitled ‘baroque’, the towering structure is a collaboration between edoardo tresoldi, michael brown — the eaux claires festival’s creative director — and english organist james mcvinnie. the sculpture houses a slightly smaller, functional organ for periodic performances over the course of the two day festival by both mcvinne (who has in the past worked with arcade fire and martin creed) and american organist griffin mcmahon. the sculpture is just the latest creation of tresoldi, who, after beginning his career in scenic design, now works almost exclusively in the production of wire mesh structures. tresoldi’s creations give temporary form to the intangible, and are imbued with an unshakeable fragility despite their awesome size. he previously resurrected an ancient italian basilica in a similarly monumental installation in puglia, and has also created three dimensional wire street art in milan. ‘working with the wire mesh and then with transparency, the interesting thing is that you can create drawings in the landscape’, says tresoldi. 

eerie & awe inspiring, the structure measures 20ft x 20ft x 16ft

otherworldly and ethereal, tresoldi’s work plays heavily with the idea of negative space, allowing the eye to fill naturally what the wire form suggests. in the case of ‘baroque’, the impression is of a hastily sketched instrument — a blueprint brought to life and magnified — only to catch in a breeze and collapse once the festival comes to a close. at nightfall the organ is crystallized by the lights of the festival, realizing (however briefly) what the wire can only imply — but the effect is always fleeting.

thankfully not too fleeting, as to prevent the piece from being demolished, ‘baroque’ has been donated to the eau clair community and is to become a permanent fixture for the small town, once a home is found. 

the installation featured performances by james mcvinne (above)

…and griffin mcmahon (above)

at night, the form of the organ is actualized by the festival lights

the sculpture has been donated to the eau clair community to save it from destruction

he eaux clair festival is held every august, and is co-produced by musicians bon iver and the national

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