"Semioptics for Spinoza", 2012
Shadow Object 3
computer, kinect, projector, metal, motor, arduino processor, lens
projection: 68.9 x 48" / 175 x 122 cm
wall mount: 28.4 x 17.3 x 11.8" / 72 x 44 x 30 cm
"Semioptics for Spinoza" is the third installation from Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s "Shadow Object" series of works, which feature objects with animated, alien shadows.
A plano-convex lens, similar to those made by philosopher Baruch Spinoza for Huygens' telescopes, is suspended from a thread and moves with the air flow and with a small motor. Projected on the wall behind the lens is a set of artificial lens flares generated by equations that take into account the orientation of the lens in relation to the viewing public. The project generates fake light beams that go through the real lens: the lens then diffracts and scatters the fake light creating light source aberrations, directional haze and chromatic distortion. The piece is a mobile that can be moved when touched lightly or by blowing upon it to change the corresponding lens flares.