Shadow Sculpture

This exhibit is based on the cover of Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, a book which I think takes a really interesting approach to cognitive science. In so many words, Hofstadter emphasizes the critical role of interpretation in understanding the meaning of minds and machines. The cover really models this idea: it depicts a 3d cube which has been built in such a way that the shadow it casts varies based on which axis of the cube is oriented toward the light source.

The above pictures depict the first prototype, which only works in 2 dimensions. Ideally, users would encounter this setup and wonder about the design and structure of the cube which is casting the shadows they see-- the shadow is being cast by a mockup currently, but it wouldn't be that difficult in principle to put together a fairly complex 3D object that casts 3 distinct shadows.

There are a couple of directions I could pursue with this prototype. The most obvious first step is to build a 3D object that casts a third different shadow. After that, I want to refine the interaction that users have with the shape of the object itself. My aim is for users to be surprised by relation between the object and the shadows it (unexpectedly) casts. I see two ways of doing this: either distorting the object so it's not immediately obvious what image will be displayed by its shadow, or by hiding the object, potentially in a set of intersecting tubes. I'm currently leaning toward the former option because I do eventually want users to be able to feel like they've "figured out" the shape of the object, rather than continuing to hide it from them after they're done interacting with the exhibit.