| Summary: | The activities of violinist/composer Jon Rose often force a readjustment of one's socially constructed aesthetic boundaries. This article takes a tour of his Rosenberg Museum, which stands as a provocation against preconceptions about violin as a musical instrument and cultural symbol. Rose's work is founded on the violin as a floating signifier, able to take on any number of meanings in order to act as a vessel for a bewildering range of social commentary and critique. The article follows how this plays out in Rose's development of not only new techniques (notably his improvisation investigations), but also new technologies of violin playing. These include his practice of building and modifying conventional string instruments (the Relative Violin project), his forays into various forms of amplification, and his development of numerous mechanical devices that changed the way a violin can be played and heard (like the interactive MIDI bow).
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