Circuit Bent "Speak & Spell," 2018
Add to SetSummary
This "circuit bent" instrument is made from an iconic Speak n' Spell educational toy. Circuit benders salvage cheap battery-powered electronics from second-hand stores, open their covers, and make permanent short circuits with jumper wires. Billy Prosise transformed this device in ways that the original manufacturer never intended, allowing sounds to loop, unpredictably glitch, and distort.
This "circuit bent" instrument is made from an iconic Speak n' Spell educational toy. Circuit benders salvage cheap battery-powered electronics from second-hand stores, open their covers, and make permanent short circuits with jumper wires. Billy Prosise transformed this device in ways that the original manufacturer never intended, allowing sounds to loop, unpredictably glitch, and distort.
Artifact
Electronic instrument
Date Made
2018
Creators
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Place of Creation
United States, Tennessee, Nashville
Creator Notes
Texas Instruments made the original Speak & Spell. Billy Prosise of OK Housecat made the modifications.
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
2019.18.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Plastic
Metal
Color
Multicolored
Dimensions
Height: 1.375 in (Keyboard)
Width: 7.25 in (Keyboard)
Length: 9.875 in (Keyboard)
Height: 3.75 in (Control box)
Width: 4.625 in (Control box)
Length: 7.375 in (Control box)
Height: 5.5 in (Instructions)
Width: 8.5 in (Instructions)
Inscriptions
on front of keyboard: PANIC! / OK CHAT DOMESTIQUE! / La Dictee Magique / Texas Instruments / Speak & Spell / (OK HOUSECAT) on back of keyboard: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS / ELECTRONIC LEARNING AID / ASSEMBLED IN USA / [...] / (C) 1978, 1980 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS on top of control box: LOOP / PITCH / LOOP 2 / OUT!
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