I went to an Instameet at the National Academy of Sciences today, where we toured two art exhibits and also the building. One of the exhibits we toured was Imagining Deep Time, and one of the pieces of art in that exhibit is Chul Hyun Ahn’s Void. I have seen this exhibit before, and no matter how many times I see Void, it still freaks me out. It just does. The piece is made of cast acrylic, LED lights, hardware, and mirrors, and while it physically has a size of 90 x 71 1⁄2 x 12 1⁄4 inches, it looks like a tunnel that goes on forever. The photos I have posted below simply do not do it justice. I am very impressed by how the artist was able to create the vision effect, but when I stand in front of it, I keep waiting for Dr. Who, Spock, or some other science fiction character to come walking through the tunnel. I guess it kind of scares me. Yes, I am a wimp. A piece of art that is just lights, mirrors, and acrylic scares me.
Side note: The photo of Void with JD Talasek, the curator of Imagining Deep Time, in front of it, is the only photo posted below that I took with my iPhone. The rest of the photos I took with my Canon 6D. I note this because I find it interesting how the two cameras captured the light differently. The only manipulation I performed on my photos was cropping and some straightening.
A view of the whole of Void
JD Talasek, the curator of Imagining Deep Time, stands in front of Void
The “floor” formed by Void
Edge of Void, where the visual effect hits reality
A selfie in Void