created by Rian Brown at the Headlands Center for the Arts Residency in 2006
Phenakistoscope comes from the Greek word phenax (deceiver) and scopein (the see) and the design was invented by Joseph Plateau in 1832- a spinning wheel that bears a series of drawn images that are spun in front of a mirror. Here I create my own versions of these objects from my films and drawings. This body of work investigates the history of motion and optical technologies. I would like to illustrate how these technologies are not new or derivative of a certain culture, but a part of a long collective history that dates back to the early shadow puppet theater and shamanistic light play of Cro-Magnon cave paintings. My research will look at the relationship between the old and new motion and optical technologies and will result in a collection of artistic objects (kinetic sculptures), video projections, and animations that highlight the relationship between the incunabula of pre-cinema and its relationship to the digital pixel. I was researching the way in which humans have sought ways to create the illusion of motion, from the shadow and light-play of cave paintings, 2nd-century Roman Mosaics, 17th-century magic lanterns, 19th-century optical toys, 20th-century motion pictures to digital imaging of the 21st century. Through these objects, I would like for the viewer to reconnect with the magic of light and shadow, and to think about how the will to animate still images is a part of our collective history.
