Being Fruitful – An Artful Holiday Tree

Hiya Swanhuyser, 2004, SF Weekly

Installation artist Sonja Meller’s work sometimes takes on the „big questions“: She once filled a forbidding Gothic chapel with dozens of shiny red apples hanging from threads. They might have been meant to signify sin in the hearts oft he outwardly devout, or they may have been a comment on knowledge and the Garden of Eden. In any case, it was staggeringly beautiful.

But her current exhibit, „Sonic Fruit“, while it does invite contemplation, is more soothing. Located in the famously beautiful Chapel oft he Chimes, Meller’s creation is a tree hung with golden fruits, every one holding a tiny, tinkered-with music box. They play Brahms, but each is missing a different single note. Visitors are invited to pull strings that activate the boxes: Select one, or several, to hear various tinkling tunes through Dec. 18 at the Chapel oft he Chimes, 4499 Piedmont (at Ramona), Oakland. Admission is free.; call (510) 654-0123.

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