XL Janus Spinning Horn

With this growing physical stature comes mechanical responsibility. The bearings are larger, the shaft is larger, and the wingspan is a whopping 8 feet! All of a sudden we have a giant robot that could hurl a man across a room.

In order to maintain a safe distance and not become entangled, we added a wireless remote control. It features infinitely variable speed control with two programmable preset speeds and reversibility.

This unit was created for our Sonic Arboretum show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2011. We were concerned museum’s visitors could be hurt by the whirling horn, so we constructed a massive base that would raise the horn above spectators and project the sound up into the museum’s atrium. The effect was startling.

Such phase shifting volumes do not readily occur in nature. The effect of audio through a twin horn, mechanically superimposed with pitch shifting phenomenon represents a sly corruption of nature. A precious condensed moment which you cannot be prepared for.