Adam Frank     " Shadow "   '04

http://www.adamfrank.com/shadow/shadow_video.htm

As participants enter the dark installation space, they see a large empty area of the floor lit

with projectors. When participants walk into the lit area, their shadow is thrown on the ground. 

Participants then notice other shadows slowly entering the lit area. These disembodied 

shadows look like the participants’ own. The virtual shadows slowly walk towards the 

participants. If the participants run away, the shadows will follow. If the participants move

towards the shadows, they will retreat. 

If the participants stay relatively still, the shadows will slowly approach. The shadows will then 

position their feet directly on top of the participants’. This act merges the participants’ own 

shadows with the virtual shadows. Once merged, the virtual shadows disappear.There are no artificial controls or prescribed manner of interaction. This transparent interface allows viewers to act naturally.

Real-time, computer generated 3D graphics and video sensing are used to produce this work of interactive light.Our shadows feel as if they are extensions of our bodies. These shadows are the absence of light due to our presence. This installation removes the presence, leaving only the representative void. The autonomous shadows create the intense sensation of both presence and absence simultaneously. Shadow merges viewer and artwork, the real and the virtual, into one entity. Along with the conceptual, there is a strong emotional and intimate component to this piece. The feeling of both the presence and absence of another human being is visceral and ghostly. In a sense, this piece functions as a quiet, interactive, anonymous memorial.