Olonium

Olonium sculpture

Sculpture
Steel, brass tuba parts

This tuba is a dead instrument. Once played by aspiring high schoolers who dreamed of a life in Marching Band, they slowly graduated and realized the instrument would never lead to love or sex, only heartbreak and a bad back. Annually the students’ parents returned the instrument to the band director who was always a little miffed—empathy for the horn. The tuba gods angered by the casual dents and lack of academic stamina voted to transmute the tuba into a Seussian carapace of steel and iron, a veritable fortress of musick! A thing of steel would last forever!

But tuba gods are not steel nor immortal, and like many gods before them, they died before finishing their work. Here you find the partial transmutation of brass to steel.

This sculpture is currently part of the Watauga Arts Council silent auction to raise money for a Public Arts Program. It will include public sculpture, murals, and other high visibility work. Your HIGH bid will help create a visually artistic High Country.