Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is offering some truly incredible exhibitions this season, featuring a diverse array of artists from different cultures and artistic disciplines. One of the most impressive exhibits on view now is a collaboration between sculptor and instrument-maker Ian Schneller and Andrew Bird called Sonic Arboretum.
If Andrew Bird is a name you’re surprised to see featured in a museum exhibition rather than on a concert bill, you’ll be happy to know that the musician has been collaborating with Schneller, who founded Specimen Products in 1981as a platform for his work, since 2010. According to the ICA, “Sculptor/instrument-maker Ian Schneller and composer/violinist Andrew Bird share a fascination with sound and its interaction with the natural world,” of the shared love of sound that helped foster a symbiotic, collaborative relationship between the two artists.
Sonic Arboretum is a both a stunning spectacle and a compelling auditory experience wrapped up in one. Guests are invited to look upon Schneller’s colorful horn speakers which are projecting a new composition created by Bird specifically for this exhibition. Details the ICA,
“Since 2010, the duo has collaboratively produced Sonic Arboretum, an installation of over 30 colorful horn speakers made from recycled newsprint, dryer lint, baking soda, and shellac and powered by custom-made tube amplifiers. Through the speakers, Bird plays an original, 50-minute composition, Echolocations: Canyon, which he recorded by whistling and playing his violin in a canyon to experiment with the site’s reverberations.”
This is just the latest artistic collaboration between Schneller and Bird; they have previously showcased their work, including Sonic Arboretum, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, as well as the Guggenheim Museum.
To see pictures, hear audio, and learn more about Sonic Arboretum and the collaboration between Schneller and Bird, visit Bird’s official website.
Featured Image: via ICA Boston.