A Symphony of Chimes

Skip LaPlante builds musical instruments out of broken glass, ceramic tea saucers, kitchen utensils, door keys, crooked nails, belt buckles, and rainbow-colored plastic toppers whose origins are unknown.

This exhibition invites you to play music on these 130 wind chimes created entirely out of reusable materials by LaPlante, many of which were completed recently during his 2016 arts residency at Flushing Town Hall. Some of the pieces date back to the 1970s, including a silver pie server and ladle that give off a delicate tinkling sound at the slightest touch. “We think too narrowly about what objects can do,” LaPlante said. He composes his own music to play this orchestra of reuse that gives a gentle homemade sound when pushed and touched by fingertips and hands, creating melodies and soothing rhythms.