Opticals
Marshall Way Enhancement Public Art Project
Scottsdale, Arizona
Finalist Proposal 2014
OPTICALS is a proposition for a group of optical-based devices arranged along the length of North Marshall Way.
Each object has a singular geometrical shape derived from natural mathematical forms. Their startling character makes them easier to identify, and their shiny surface will catch either sunlight or night lighting. Their complex faceting makes the scale of potential glare less obtrusive.
Within each object is an optical apparatus that creates a complex play with the existing streetscape, wonderously transforming known and identifiable locations on the street into something unexpected, something unknown.
The purpose of this series of objects, of Opticals, is to create a secondary reading of the street, whether to engage people in conversation, to play, or to question the environment that you are in. Children, adults and, pretty much everyone, can share in the delight that the Opticals suggest.
The view of the fountain as seen through this sculpture. Using a half mirror, two real people nearby are composited as if riding on horses in the fountain. These ghostly apparitions are combined in the lens system with the view directly visible beyond.
The streetscape view is augmented with a film slide. In this case architectural spaces of the internationally famous but local to Arizona, Palo Soleri. The overlays might changed over time with events or the seasons.
Using special dichroic color filters, overlaid with optical distortion patterns, here the live image can be completely changed. In this case reversing some colors and accentuating others. Even by slightly moving your eye in front of the eyepiece, the scene will shift slightly, making the image far more readable.
In this sculpture a teleidoscope works in a similar manner to a kaleidoscope by taking in existing view of the street and arraying it into a distinct pattern. By turning the viewfinder, different configurations are possible.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Each of the Opticals looks different on the outside and performs a different visual manipulation when you look through it.
Positioned in the arts district along N Marshall Way, each piece is hidden in plain sight and becomes part of a treasure hunt of sorts.
Made of polished cast stainless steel, each outer casting will reflect the environment around it.
