Stephen Takacs, lecturer and local artist, will present Target Six-16, an interactive art installation, at the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival, September 20-22.

Target Six-16 is a modular, room-sized camera obscura, which is a to-scale replica of the iconic Kodak Brownie box camera, enlarged 17.5 times, making it 5’ x 8’ x 7.5’. The installation allows visitors to enter into the camera through an opening in the rear and explore its internal workings.

On the front of the camera, a lens and infrared sensor is connected to the camera shutter. Activated by motion, the sensor opens the shutter allowing light inside the camera. The camera’s lens then projects an upside-down image of the exterior onto a large piece of transparent fabric on the interior.

By entering into Target Six-16, the everyday world is re-contextualized, turning the visitors’ perception of the world upside-down. Visitors are simultaneously captured by and become the capture-device. Visitors on the outside observe the object and become the object. This inversion of the role of the viewer and the viewed challenges the traditional art-viewing experience.

“I'm interested in the social interactions that revolve around such a work,” Takacs said. “There's a certain magic and complexity to a seemingly simple device like a camera obscura, which causes us to reconsider the world around us.”

A member of the STEAM Factory; Takacs’ Target Six-16 was funded in part by its Outreach and Engagement Impact Grant.

This installation also will be on view in Columbus at the 2013 Mini Maker Faire on Sunday, October 13 at COSI.

By Marissa Pacheco, editorial intern at ASC Communications