“Big Muddy” Cigar Box Guitar (2019)

Found-Object Sculpture & Functional 3-String Guitar
7” x 36 1/4” x 2 3/4”

This bluegrass-inspired sculptural piece is a functioning cigar box guitar made from found objects, with the exception of the acoustic pickup and a fresh set of strings. The body is constructed from a cigar box and incorporates license plates to create an internal resonator. The bridge is a repurposed length of threaded rod, while the nut is a repurposed bolt. The strings are retained by an old hinge and the slide is the neck of a recycled wine bottle.

Cigar box guitars can be traced all the way back to the 1840’s, when cigar companies began selling cigars in smaller and more accessible packaging. However, the earliest known image of a cigar box instrument is a 1876 etching by Edwin Forbes of two American civil war soldiers, one of which is holding a cigar box fiddle. In the 1930’s, Americans saw a resurgence of cigar box instruments with the rise of the Great Depression. Musicians began making more instruments with found objects, as most Americans were living in poverty.

This piece is meant to celebrate the ingenuity of those musicians and the culture of bluegrass and country music. Named “Big Muddy” after the Missouri River, this piece was made possible by materials donated by Weston Tobacco.