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MACHINE VISION 1978 |
| AN ELECTRO/OPTO/MECHANICAL
ENVIRONMENT BY STEINA |
STEINA: “When a human being
operates the camera, the assumption is that the
camera is an extension of the eye. You move the
camera the way you move the head and the body.
In video, unlike photography or film, the viewfinder
is not necessarily an integral part of the camera
apparatus. . . .
“In the late seventies,
I began a series of environments titled Machine
Vision and Allvision, with a mirrored sphere.
Another variation has a motorized moving mirror
in front of the camera so that depending on the
horizontal or vertical positioning of the mirror,
the video monitor displays a continuous pan or
tilt either back/forth or up/down. A third variation
is a continuous rotation through a turning prism,
while still another has a zoom lens in continuing
motion, in/out. These automatic motions simulate
all possible camera movements freeing the human
eye from being the central point of the universe.” |
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Steina |
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| D E S C R I P T I O N |
A mirrored sphere, positioned in
the middle of a crossbar reflects the image of
surrounding space. Two video cameras, attached
to each end of the crossbar are looking in at
the mirrored surface. The crossbar — now an assembly
of mirrored sphere and two cameras — slowly rotates
on the turntable with cameras orbiting the sphere.
Since each camera sees half of the reflected space,
the whole space becomes observable.
The turntable, which sits on a low pedestal, holds
the driving mechanism for the rotation —
a slip-ring assembly and a DC motor. The slip-ring
assembly provides uninterrupted video signals
from, and power to, the cameras. The video signal
from two cameras connects to two (or more monitors)
arranged in the exhibit space. |
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