Judy Dunaway
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AMPLIFIED TWISTER BALLOON
Judy Dunaway
For decades rock guitar players, the overwhelming majority whom have been male, have both mauled and caressed the hour-glass “female” form of the electric guitar to generate virtuosic solos.   I counter this idea with a virtuosic performance on my penis-shaped (and colored) Twister balloon.   The “Twister” balloon is a long dirigible-shaped balloon commonly “twisted” to make balloon animals.  In my case, I have found that it is also a beautiful musical instrument, a dirigible-shaped string that can yield harmonics at equal ratios similar to a bugle or digeridoo, augmented microtonally by the natural curvature and malleable surface.  In shape this sonic sculpture also harkens back to my initial artistic inspiration, the latex condom as a life-saving device.

I developed this new instrument in 2015 using a custom pickup made by Lianne Morrisette of Cold Gold Audio.   Since then, I have performed the piece widely throughout North America and Europe as part of my solo presentation.  Below is video from a live performance at the aptly named Interpenetration series in Graz, Austria from 2016.

  • Home
  • ARTIST STATEMENT
  • BIO
  • SELECTED WORKS
    • Sculptural sonic performance
    • Sound installation
    • Interactive technlogy
    • Transmission art
    • Acousmatic works
    • Collaborative projects
  • Discography
  • NEWS
  • Contact