NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A showstopping art installation at Virgin Hotels Nashville features a dozen floating musical instruments.
In the lobby of the new hotel that opened in July, artist John Peralta hung guitars, fiddles and drums from the ceiling.
"I feel really lucky that they would invite me to do it," said John Peralta.
Peralta, a sculptor with a unique style from Austin, spent more than three months finding instruments for the display at the hotel. He looked for instruments he could deconstruct and suspend in the foyer. For example, he knew Fender instruments would be great for his installation.
"One of the popular features of Fender is you can take them apart to be customized, so that made them easy," Peralta said.
Peralta tested the design before the install. He took the instruments apart in his studio before bringing them to the hotel.
"I had to do all the work of exploding them in my studio... getting them to not collapse on themselves and all the parts to remain exploded out is quite a challenge. It would have taken a long time to do it on site and upside down," he said.
He spent about a week this past spring attaching the instruments to the ceiling of the hotel lobby located off Music Row.
"I'm really happy with how it turned out," he said.
