Ivette Spradlin and Sean Derry propose to install a Camera Obscura as a new work of public art in Pittsburgh. A camera obscura (latin for “dark chamber”) is a light tight box with one small opening, an aperture, to let light in. The world outside is projected inside the dark room through the aperture. A camera obscura can be any size, essentially, it is a camera. These days when someone refers to a camera obscura it is generally a room or a space that is large enough for a person or people to stand in whereas a “camera” is hand held. The camera obscura has a long history in both the sciences and the arts. First realized in the 15th century, it have been used by astronomers as a way to study the sun’s patterns, by painters to render a three dimensional space onto a two dimensional surface, and in the late 1800‘s as an attraction to many parks and vistas. Now, with such a strong camera and image based culture, a camera obscura allows the participant to go inside the camera not just hold it in their hand and capture. It is a return to the basics of optics and cameras and it promotes a reflection on photographic images, a reminder that they are only capturing a split second of an ever-changing world.
Spradlin’s interest in this project was first sparked in 2002 when she experienced the seaside “Giant Camera” on a visit to San Francisco, California. The experience of being inside this camera obscura, containing a 360 degree rotating periscope which projects the external surroundings onto a concave bowl inside a dark room, was transformative. Since this experience, Spradlin has sought to create a new work of art based on this simple but unique structure.
Seeing the world in live time stripped of sound, desaturated from the lenses, and detached from the actual experience promotes an alternate perception of the visual landscape. The viewer focuses on elements that may be overlooked when experiencing the outside world. Inside the camera obscura, the viewer is offered a new perspective, a new way to take in the surrounding world. This offers a form of detachment while in a present state of being, laying the groundwork for meditation.
Spradlin wishes to bring this magical experience to Pittsburgh’s communities. The projections of the outside world inside the room will allow people a chance to see the city in a new way, to stop and reflect on the beauty and connections that exist.
The structure itself will be a work of art and provide a destination for participatory programming that will further activate the project. During the evening hours the interior of the camera obscura would close and its interaction with the public would transform. To give the project an evening presence, one concept is to project daytime footage collected by the camera obscura to the outside. This will ensure the project offers visitors a dynamic experience both day and night.
Collaborator Sean Derry’s interest in making public art is based on the potential to produce a work of art that is accessible and influential to the everyday actions of individuals. He is committed to developing a camera obscura that will provoke discovery and results in a meaningful addition to Pittsburgh. Spradlin and Derry’s participatory art project offers visitors an approachable means of exploring the poetic conditions of everyday places.
Spradlin’s interest in this project was first sparked in 2002 when she experienced the seaside “Giant Camera” on a visit to San Francisco, California. The experience of being inside this camera obscura, containing a 360 degree rotating periscope which projects the external surroundings onto a concave bowl inside a dark room, was transformative. Since this experience, Spradlin has sought to create a new work of art based on this simple but unique structure.
Seeing the world in live time stripped of sound, desaturated from the lenses, and detached from the actual experience promotes an alternate perception of the visual landscape. The viewer focuses on elements that may be overlooked when experiencing the outside world. Inside the camera obscura, the viewer is offered a new perspective, a new way to take in the surrounding world. This offers a form of detachment while in a present state of being, laying the groundwork for meditation.
Spradlin wishes to bring this magical experience to Pittsburgh’s communities. The projections of the outside world inside the room will allow people a chance to see the city in a new way, to stop and reflect on the beauty and connections that exist.
The structure itself will be a work of art and provide a destination for participatory programming that will further activate the project. During the evening hours the interior of the camera obscura would close and its interaction with the public would transform. To give the project an evening presence, one concept is to project daytime footage collected by the camera obscura to the outside. This will ensure the project offers visitors a dynamic experience both day and night.
Collaborator Sean Derry’s interest in making public art is based on the potential to produce a work of art that is accessible and influential to the everyday actions of individuals. He is committed to developing a camera obscura that will provoke discovery and results in a meaningful addition to Pittsburgh. Spradlin and Derry’s participatory art project offers visitors an approachable means of exploring the poetic conditions of everyday places.
