Dennis Oppenheim

Theme for a Major Hit, 1974. “It ain’t what you make, it’s what makes you do it.”

Motor driven marionette 24” high, 2 hour recording, circular stage, spotlight.

Jim Ballard, vocals; Roger Welch, drums; Bill Beckley, guitar/vocals; Christa Maiwald, vocals; John Shole, lead guitar; Diego Cortez, electric organ; Connie Beckley, vocals; Dennis Oppenheim, lyrics. Recorded at Angel Sound, N.Y.C.

A motor-driven marionette from Dennis Oppenheim’s 1974 Theme for a Major Hit, waltzes to the artist’s original sound piece, "It ain't what you make, it's what makes you do it," in the Clocktower Gallery entrance. With a facsimile of Oppenheim's face and a preternatural ability to keep the beat, this seductive yet confounding piece exemplifies a key phase in the artist's body of work.

The Clocktower Gallery wishes to thank Amy van Winkle Plumb, Oppenheim’s longtime curator, for allowing this piece to be exhibited.

Theme for a Major Hit is free and open to the public. The Clocktower Gallery is located in a City-owned building at 108 Leonard Street between Broadway and Lafayette, so please, remember to bring you ID for security. Enter through the grey door under the scaffolding and take the elevator to the 12th Floor. Take a left, enter through the red staircase B door, and walk up to the 13th Floor. The AIR offices and studios are down the corridor. The Clocktower Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 12pm to 5pm.

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