Six Lenses, Spring 2005. Materials: Builders transit, string line level, spotlight, 12 yards decomposed granite, excavation. Dimensions vary (the largest being 21 ft, the smallest 4 ft)
Lenses is an optical term. It is also a landscaping term referring to berms built in arid landscapes intended to slow water runoff and raise the water table beneath. These lenses are perfect conic sections within depressions below the ground plane. The piece intends to draw attention to the difference in perspective between above and below. I formed the footprints of the lenses by projecting a beam of light from one point in the center of the balcony upstairs in the gallery onto the ground in 6 places. I then formed the lenses up by carefully adding material, continually checking the geometry using string lines and a builders transit, and at night with the light.
Lenses is an optical term. It is also a landscaping term referring to berms built in arid landscapes intended to slow water runoff and raise the water table beneath. These lenses are perfect conic sections within depressions below the ground plane. The piece intends to draw attention to the difference in perspective between above and below. I formed the footprints of the lenses by projecting a beam of light from one point in the center of the balcony upstairs in the gallery onto the ground in 6 places. I then formed the lenses up by carefully adding material, continually checking the geometry using string lines and a builders transit, and at night with the light.