IvyMike

Shadow Sculptures and Digital Sundials

A shadow sculpture is a "three-dimensional object in which the shadow, as opposed to the actual form, represent[s] the actual object." Shigeo Fukuda is a sculptor who makes shadow sculptures; make sure to out the quicktime movie for "Lunch With A Helmut On", a seemingly random blob of forks, spoons and knives that casts the shadow of a motorcycle.

This reminded me of an article in Scientific American a few years ago about hypothetical digital sundials. Turns out someone actually makes a digital sundial now. "In the true tradition of all sundials, the device is purely passive - it operates without electricity, and has no moving parts. Instead, the sunlight is cast through two cleverly designed masks in the shape of numbers that show the current time of day." Clever, and only $98. I might have to get one even though I have nowhere to put it. Patent (with a pretty slick explanation), and a video demo.

Tags: art, gizmos, gadgets, clocks

posted by IvyMike @ 8/22/2005 08:52:00 PM