Along with playing video games on ATARI, inventing interesting breakdancing moves, and using the word “sike” way too often, children of the 80's may also remember the days when carrying a boombox on your shoulder was totally the “cool” thing to do! As the boombox became more popular, so did the demands for better sound quality, with higher and heavier bass. In order to accommodate these requests, production companies had to make the machines larger to handle the heavier sound vibrations. Although the boxes did reach significantly large proportions, I'm not sure they ever reached quite this enormous of a size!
As a promo for the International Radio Festival in Zurich, artist Bartek Elsner constructed this gigantic boombox out of paper, designed around the frame of a Mini car. Although the buttons and switches don't actually work, the car speakers blast sound out of the front of the structure and give the illusion of a working machine. The festival advertises “Come and check out Zrich's largest ghetto blaster at the IRF at Schloss Sihlberg. Drop in for an evening drink, for some light dinner, and eat to the beat whilst you listen to how the world sounds.” This is definitely not a boombox that you can carry around town on your shoulder, but the novelty will immediately capture the attention of the crowds, and one can only assume that the sound is quite spectacular!
Bartek Elsner on Behance
International Radio Festival website
via [Lustik]
