Daniel Rozin: Wooden Mirror
Artist(s):
Title:
- Wooden Mirror
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 1999
Medium:
- Wood, motors, video camera, computer
Size:
- 70 inches x 60 inches x 6 inches
Category:
Artist Statement:
Wooden Mirror explores the line between analog and digital. The essence of the piece is the notion of inflicting digital order on a material that is as analog as it gets: wood. I was hoping to take the computational power of a computer and video camera, and seamlessly integrate them into the physicality, warmth, and beauty of a wooden mirror.
The piece reflects any object or person in front of it by organizing the wooden pieces. It moves fast enough to create live animation. The simple interaction between the viewer and the piece removes any uncertainty regarding its operation. It is a mirror. The non-reflective surfaces of the wood are able to reflect an image because the computer manipulates them to cast back different amounts of light as they tilt toward or away from the light source. The image reflected in the mirror is a very minimal one. It is, I believe, the least amount of information required to convey a picture (less than an icon on a computer and with no color). It is amazing how little information this is for a computer, and yet how much character it can have (and what an endeavor it is to create it in the physical world).
Wooden Mirror produces a distinctive sound when something moves in front of it: the sound of hundreds of tiny motors. The sound is directly connected to the motion of the person in front of the mirror and provides a pleasing secondary feedback to the image.
All the construction of this piece was done by hand, including mechanical connections and wiring. It took 10 months to build the mirror.
