Exhibition Hoftsra University 1967
Sound Sculpture 1967-1973
In 1964 David Jacobs became friends with K.C. Li, whose family owned the Wah Chang tungsten refinery in Glen Cove, New York. Li provided Jacobs with ample studio space in the Wah Chang factory, where he was often startled by machinery that rumbled into operation late at night. By 1967 Jacobs had produced Mother, an initially flaccid stack of rubber inner tubes that inflates to wriggling life when a hidden vacuum pump is activated. By combining metal elements and rubber tubing in various configurations, Jacobs produced several additional kinetic sculptures in 1967, each of which is programmed to move and create sound with unique anthropomorphism. Beginning with an exhibition at Hofstra University’s Emily Lowe Gallery, these “Wah Wah” sculptures were typically presented as a group in the late 1960s, performing for audiences like a cacophonous orchestra.
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By 1970 the “Wah Wah” sculptures had shed much of their figurative animation as Jacobs became more focused on the bodily apprehension of sound. In these later works, columns of rubber billows are suspended from the ceiling and terminate in long, floor-hugging, metal pipes. When pumped through with air, the sculptures emit an insistent hum and infuse their surroundings with palpable vibrations. Recognized as an innovator in the nascent field of sound art, Jacobs was included in several important group exhibitions during this period, including “Inflatable Sculpture” at the Jewish Museum (NY) in 1969, and "Sound Sculpture" at the Vancouver Art Gallery (BC) in 1973.
Adelphi University – 2011 (Video)
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC – 1973 (Video)
Hofstra University Calkins Gallery – 1973 (Video)
Diamond Box – 1963
Ball in the Jack – 1966
Smother – 1966
Mother – 1967
Baby 1967
Wah Wah at Hofstra University and Allan D’Arcangelo Studio – 1967
List – 1968
Ground Floor – 1969
Jewish Museum – 1969
Albion College – 1970
Colgate University – 1970
San Jose State University – 1970
Weslyan University, CT – 1971
Kenyon College – 1971
Herricks High School, NY – 1971
Cornell University – 1971
152 Wooster Street Gallery, NY – 1971-1972
Colby College – 1973
Edinboro State University, PA – 1973
Hofstra University Calkins Gallery – 1973
Vancouver Art Gallery, BC – 1973
MoMA PS-1, NY – 1979
Nassau County Museum of Art, NY – 1988
Adelphi University – 2011
