Viewing Device
Fall 2016 / (Un)Making the Museum / Mo Zell
This device attempts to turns “view” into a game, a game that plays on the user’s perception of depth and their surroundings. It literally gives the user the “ability to see something”—Two somethings in this case, two black marbles, visible only to the user. The user has the ability to move the marbles around in the channels in the device, and even dump them out the side if they so choose (only to drop them back in the top and start again). The device also enables the user to filter, focus, or obscure the “view” through a series of inserts, which adds a twist and a bit of complexity to the game. The biggest challenge of all, however, is trying to place the inserts in the device while wearing it.
The device is fun for more than just the wearer, however. Anyone observing the person utilizing this device gets quite a “view” (it’s surely a sight to see). After a few moments of observing, one is left to ponder two things: one, what is on that person’s head, and two, why is that person thrashing their head around with that thing on their head? If the observer approaches the user, they’d perhaps be surprised only to come to find a view of themselves.
