Layered Transparent Light Installation

The Idea here was to stack multiple translucent prints on top of one another to create a composite image with more depth than a standard print. I would then install a light-source behind the stacked prints to illuminate them from behind. The light source could either be a static bulb, or more interestingly, I could use the bulb from a scanner to both provide the light for the piece and record the candid reactions from the person viewing the installation. I’ve already finished the art for the piece, now I need to print and assemble it.

I used Illustrator to make the line art for the eye.

I then used a stock image of an iris as reference and converted it to vector shapes in Illustrator. Each color of the iris is on it’s own layer, but I figured I’d spare you 18 separate images and just show a few.

The really neat thing about these projects, and vector graphics in general, is that unlike traditional raster based images, these can be scaled infinitely. I could up-scaled it to the size of a building with no visible change in the overall design. Maybe I’ll get more ambitious in the future, but for now 8.5″ x 22″ will work just fine.

*Update!*

So I went to Kinko’s tonight and got the art printed on transparency paper. The Kinko’s guy that helped me was totally cool. He was really excited when I explained what the project was all about. After he finished printing and stacking the 34 transparencies he took one of the eyes to the back to show his co-workers. I was definitely happy to see somebody take such an interest right off the bat.

The prints turned out great but one problem I noticed right away was that the black layer wasn’t dark enough to mask the area beneath it. The Kinko’s guy suggested we print two additional black layers at a more saturated black to help mask the light. It worked like a charm… way to go Kinko’s guy!

After we were both happy with the way things looked it was time to pay up. It came out close to 80 bucks for all the prints. That was nowhere near the .75 cents/page the girl had quoted me over the phone. The Kinko’s guy was cool enough to give me his employee discount bringing the total down to just under 40 bucks. Score!

So now I need to come up with some sort of lightbox and frame to hold the transparencies permanently.

*Update!*

I found a photo frame that was roughly the correct size at a local crafts store. The frame would require a little bit of modification to work for this project, but that was to be expected.

The first thing I needed to do was cut two circles in the backing board right behind the irises. With the holes cut out the LED lights would be able to shine through and illuminate the colored layers.

With the two holes cut out I placed the black layers over the holes to make sure they lined up properly. Success!

The next step was to make a frame to provide enough depth to house all of the electronic components. I used some scrap wood I had that happened to be about the right size to make a box that was slightly smaller than the photoframe.

The next step was to figure out how I was going to wire the LEDs. I decided to use a 9 volt battery and 6 LEDs per eye. With this setup I would need one 150ohm resistor for every pair of LEDs.

I wired up all of the LEDs and made a little box out of scrap balsa wood to hold the on/off switch and 9 volt battery.

When I tested the LEDs I realised there was light bleeding through the spaces between the backing board and transparencies giving the eye a washed out look. I was able to fix this by using black electrical tape around the inner edge of the cutout.

Everything all taped over and secure.

All that’s left now is to stick it on my wall and enjoy!

I put it above my three floating bookshelves. It looks nice there, and it keeps me from stacking too many books.

These pictures didn’t turn out all that great, this thing is difficult to photograph.

So I’m pretty much done. I would still like to get black matting cut to replace the white. I was also thinking of integrating some phototransistors or photodiodes or something to allow it to automatically turn on when the lights go down.

Project is 95% complete

2 Comments

Leave a Comment

Username (required) :
Email (required) :
Web Site :
Comment :

(required)