Self-Guided Tour:
Seven Bells
for Stone Barns
Experience the farm like never before through this groundbreaking sound installation by artist
Bruce Odland. This work is a part of In the Garden of Sonic Delights, a multi-site sound art exhibition
commissioned by Caramoor Center for Music and the Art. Working closely with Stone Barn Center’s
farmers, Odland has crafted an original installation of seven bells that highlights the intricate workings
of the farm’s ecosystems and invites the visitor on a sonic treasure hunt. We invite you to stop, listen a
while and start thinking with your ears.
“Ears thus opened, visitors are invited to listen to the many eco-niches of Stone Barns Center – each of
which contains an acoustic signature of its time and spatiality that includes the sounds of the activities that
make the whole farm function. This project would not have been possible without the mechanical genius and
skill of Bill Ballou who worked with my simple sketches and brought them forth into beautiful and functional
instruments. ” –Bruce Odland, Sound Artist
For more information about In the Garden of Sonic Delights, taking place across Westchester County,
visit gardenofsonicdelights.org.
The Titanium Bell (1)
Once filled many years ago with silage—food for livestock—this silo is now often filled with
visitors, as well as sound. Here, a bell rings with a long, steady vibration that reverberates
throughout this high-ceilinged, cylindrical space.
The bell itself has had many lives. It originally served as the titanium nose cone for a solid fuel
rocket made by Robert Ulichny as part of the American Aerospace program. Much later, it was
used first as a charcoal grill in Milwaukee, WI, and then as a planter by Shelley Lee in Crotonon-Hudson, NY until its bell potential was spotted by Odland. It is randomly struck by an
oscillating mechanism that approaches the bell and then withdraws. Notice how the wait for
the bell to ring makes you feel, and consider how factors of randomness affect our agricultural
system. Once struck, the bell rings for three minutes, and the exceptional acoustics in this silo
create a unique listening experience.
The Weather Bell (2)
This vegetable field is home to more than 500 plant varieties. These crops rotate from bed to
bed with the seasons. Among our plants, currently rotating in this space, is wind-driven sound.
On a post at the top of the vegetable field is a weathervane combined with an anemometer, a
stainless steel device used for measuring wind speed. It is connected to a system of four bells,
each with a distinct tone for the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west. Each
bell is activated, or rung, by its corresponding wind direction, bringing awareness to a factor
inherent in the farming ecosystem that we can’t always see—the weather.
The Watering Bell (3)
Water for our diverse array of crops comes from an artesian well on the property. Along with
the sun and nutrient-rich soil, water is an essential part of growing healthy plants. It is a
valuable natural resource, and we must consider how to sustain it. Look for the hammer
raised above a planting bed. Before reading on, can you figure out how it works?
A stainless steel bowl is balanced opposite a bell. The hammer is poised in the air, fixed above
the bell. Once the drip irrigation system fills the bowl with water, the weight of the liquid
causes it to lower, resulting in the opposing bell flipping up and striking the hammer. Your ears
reveal the important but often invisible answers to two questions: how much water does it take
to water a bed, and how often does the bed get watered?
The Greenhouse Gamelan (4)
In this space, modern innovation meets agricultural tradition. The greenhouse makes
use of the sun’s power, capturing its heat and radiating it to keep plants at comfortable
temperatures—32 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature sensors send data to a computer
that opens and closes the greenhouse roof to maintain ideal conditions. Productive all year
long, the greenhouse grows seasonal crops including experimental seed trials.
Here there are two bell systems. In one system, each bell is linked to a solar panel, its ringing
powered by the sun. Connected to the same drive shafts that open and close the greenhouse
roof, the bells will ring at different heights corresponding to the roof’s position. The second
system is made of wind chimes ringing at high octaves with the blowing of the wind. Together,
these bells create sonic patterns that highlight the relationship between the circulation of air
and energy from the sun.
The Bellwether and Ewe Bells (5, rotating)
The rotation of animals around the pasture is an important part of our agricultural system.
Moving our flock of Finn-Dorset sheep and our chickens, turkeys and geese to fresh paddocks
of grass keeps the animals, the soil and the pasture grasses healthy.
The flock contains two bells. One is worn by a young male—the bellwether, or lead sheep—
and rings at a high pitch. The second is worn by a ewe, or adult female sheep, and rings at
a low pitch. The interplay of these bells marks the rhythm of grazing and brings increased
awareness to the movement of the flock throughout our landscape.
The Irresistable Scratching Post Bell (6, rotating)
All of the animals we raise live in healthy conditions that allow them to exhibit their natural
instincts. Whether in the pasture or in the woods, our Berkshire pigs like to root in the soil and
they love a good scratch.
As it turns out, our Berkshires find rubber boots a wonderful surface to scratch on! Here a
group of rubber boots is affixed to a pole. As the pigs rub against the shoes to their delight,
their movement shakes a fishing pole atop the post, ringing a group of bells. That’s the sound
of happy pigs being pigs.
The Bee Bells (7)
The apiary is a hub of activity. These honeybees play a vital role in the pollination of our crops.
They forage nectar from our vegetable field, gardens and woodlands and produce a honey
unique to our region and their food sources. Now, we can really hear how busy these bees are.
The bee’s activity at the entry to one hive breaks low voltage, micro laser beams, triggering a
bell. On another hive, three beams positioned at different heights trigger bells relating to the
flight patterns of the bees. The bells will sound the rhythm of the hive, the patterns of forage
and return; this is the sound of pollination.
Follow us:
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
630 Bedford Road Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
Tel: 914 366 6200 stonebarnscenter.org
All photos courtesy of Bruce Odland
Hours of Operation:
Wednesday – Sunday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday and Tuesday closed