Kendall Band

Kendall Band
Pythagoras is the largest component of the Kendall Band
ArtistPaul Matisse
Year1986–1988
TypeInteractive sound sculpture (aluminum, steel, teak)
LocationKendall/MIT station, Cambridge, Massachusetts
OwnerMBTA

The Kendall Band is a three-part musical sculpture created between 1986 and 1988 by Paul Matisse,[1] who is the grandson of French artist Henri Matisse and stepson of surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp.[2] It is installed between the inbound and outbound tracks of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Kendall Station located in Cambridge, Massachusetts near the MIT campus. As of 2007, the art work was seen by an estimated 12,518 riders on an average weekday.[3] It had originally cost $90,000 to construct.[4]

The three parts of the interactive work are called Pythagoras, Kepler, and Galileo, and are all controlled by levers located on the subway platforms.[5]

  1. ^ "Kendall Band". Paul Matisse. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  2. ^ Christopher Reed. "Pure Fabrication" Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine. Harvard Magazine. May–June 2002. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  3. ^ MBTA Bluebook Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. MBTA. 2007. Accessed May 26, 2010
  4. ^ Daly, Gabriel J. and Velan, Sonam S. "T-Riders Ring the Sound of Science". The Harvard Crimson. December 07, 2006 . Accessed May 27, 2010.
  5. ^ "Grace notes from the underground". The Boston Globe. May 9, 2010. Accessed May 26, 2010.