June 2012

Specimen Horn Speakers created for Columbia College’s Book + Paper Arts Exhibit

Columbia College commissioned Specimen to participate in a special exhibition titled Material Assumptions: Paper as Dialogue. For the exhibition, contemporary artists were asked to create new work using abaca and cotton paper handmade by graduate students of the college’s Center for Book and Paper Arts.

These one-of-a-kind Hornlets, are on display June 15 – August 11, 2012 along with newly commissioned works by 11 other artists as well as work by artists-in-residence at Dieu Donn, a New York-based non-profit artist workspace dedicated to the creation, promotion and preservation of contemporary art in the hand papermaking process.  For more info: Material Assumptions. Below is a slideshow of photos taken during the building process.

The horn speakers we usually make using recycled newsprint, baking soda, and dryer lint yield surfaces that are ruddy, organic, and wild like an untended garden.

By contrast, the handmade paper fabricated for this project is so pure, white, and structurally profound that Ian chose to use it to create a pair of Hornlet audio horn speakers that are pristine, stripped down to the lines, and completely naked. Only hand-pulled paper can come close to this organic purity. It is similar to working with porcelain versus terra cotta or stoneware.

Naturally, it seemed fitting that the bases for these paper horns also have a quality of purity or transparency which is why Ian chose to use thick acrylic sheets. “It is a little bit eery to listen to them and realize visually to what extent the internal volume of air plays a role in sound production. I think of them as a “full disclosure” version of the Hornlets.” -Ian Schneller