Piano fades as artwork grows

THE role of a piano technician is to keep an instrument sounding tuneful and operating at its best.

But Ballarat piano tuner and technician Rae Howell has turned that idea on its head as part of her installation project, The Piano: Hook, Line and Tinker.

While in residence at 41 Lydiard Street North, the artist, who is also a composer and musician, has pulled a 108-year-old piano apart and is dissecting its mechanical elements, from keys, to strings, to hammers.

Opening the space’s doors to members of the public last week for a work-in-progress showing, Howell said her aim was to start a conversation about the piano’s complexities, history, and significance.

“A piano used to be in everyone’s home and bring communities together,” she said. “The piano technician was the most important serviceperson of the house.

“There are so many stories of them being handed down by families, and it becomes this thing that people can’t let go of.

“Now, a lot of antique pianos get to the stage where they’re unserviceable and un-tuneable, so it’s important to talk about what that means, because we don’t want to take them to landfill.

Beyond the piano keys are thousands of inner parts, some which break down into many more pieces.

“We need to ask, are there ways to recycle and repurpose them? They can be turned to a desk, or a bookshelf, or you can pull them all apart, like I have.

“The pieces will continue on a life of their own. I’m thinking about making kinetic sound sculptures from them, and I’ve turned some into pieces of art. There’s so many things you can do.”

Before the project began, the piano involved had up-to-10,000 parts, held 18 to 20 tonnes of tension, and had 228 strings.

With a heavy iron frame it weighed 250 kilograms.

“It’s such a beast,” she said. “There are parts that break down to about 16 pieces. I think people are surprised to see what’s behind the cabinet because you don’t usually see the repetition of parts.”

As a tuner-technician, Howell has one ultimate message.

“If you have a piano, look after it,” she said. “It’s important that you care for them because they are so complex.”