The Amazing Camera Obscura

Next Showing:

RISD by Design Saturday Oct. 11 2008

The Camera Obscura is wheelchair accessible.

The project was originally entitled Upside Down Providence and was built in 1999 by artists Peter Goldberg and Erik Gould for Providence Rhode Island’s Convergence XII, an international arts festival sponsored by the City Department of Public Parks.

Visitors to the camera obscura are escorted through the light trap and into the camera by project artists, with flash lights. Once their eyes adjust, they will witness an inverted version of the outside scene which appears on a white sheet that wraps around the inside walls of the camera.

This phenomenon is caused by the principle that reflected light travels in a straight line, in this case through a hole in the side of the camera. An adjustable iris diaphragm from a theatrical spot light is used as an aperture. This allows more light to be let in at first until eyes adjust and then the opening can be “stopped down” demonstrating how image sharpness increases as the aperture size decreases.

The image wraps around three walls and onto the ceiling and floor with an angle of view estimated at approximately 150 degrees. A person standing 2 feet in front of the hole will appear full length inside the camera.The banners decorating the outside of the camera were designed and painted by Erminio Pinque of Big Nazo Studios in Providence. They were intended to be reminiscent of side show attractions, alluding to the history of the camera obscura as a popular 19th century carnival attraction.

The camera obscura was designed with interconnecting 4x8’ wood sections. The sections were built like theater flats with plywood and 1x3’’ pine. Each section connects with nuts and bolts. The camera area is 8’x8’ square with a walk through light trap and can be assembled in about 2 hours. Disassembled, the camera will fit into a standard cargo van. The camera has the option of three different views with holes on each wall.