Art Installation - Camera Lucida

As a designer, I have always sought out interesting opportunities to volunteer my time while utilizing my professional skill-set. When I took part in applying for an art installation grant for the Black Rock City Honorarium for for the annual Burning Man event, I knew that this was the side project that I had been looking for.  

The team and I set out to construct a piece of pop art. Entitled Camera Lucida, the sculpture was a Victorian era bellows camera scaled up 10x that used fire as the flash to light the subjects of its photography. A crucial part of the experience was that users were given the option to control the flash (i.e., the fire aspects of the sculpture). This project had its challenges, not the least of which was being at the mercy of mother nature and her powerful winds and dust storms once we were out in the desert raising the sculpture in the days leading up to the event, but the project was a great success.

As artists, we went to Burning Man to share an experience with others and to provide a place to gather and be delighted. What we received as a reward was a feeling of great accomplishment - and gratitude in spades.

Designer