MYSTERY RANCH PROJECT: CAMERA OBSCURA HOUSE
Built almost entirely of salvaged materials, the Camera Obscura House is a 10’ x 14’ tiny home that functions as a living piece of artwork as well as guest quarters for visitors to the Mystery Ranch.
The earliest written account of a camera obscura dates back to 400 BCE and the concept has enthralled scientists and artists ever since. By letting in just a bit of light through a small hole into a dark room, an inverted projection of the outside is displayed on an opposite wall. In the case of the Camera Obscura House at the Mystery Ranch, this light is let in through a lens built into the side of the structure, and the projection is displayed on a framed scrim mounted on the interior wall of the lens. As the outside landscape shifts, so does the inside landscape of the room.
A view of the Camera Obscura House’s exterior.
An interior view of the exterior, as projected through the lens.
The Camera Obscura House was built under the direction of Jim Woody with the help of a number of artists at the ranch, all of whom were eager to see this special building come to life.
Thanks to Dean Abernathy, Cara Garcia, Matt Geirsch, Mike Orem, Rachel Hillberg, Mike Clemson, Sandie Bucklew, and Theresa Hermanny for their creative energy.
Side view of the Camera Obscura House’s lens.
Jim Woody and Leland Means in front of the Camera Obscura House’s lens.
An interior view of the lens with the scrim open.
Projection meets reflection: The view from the window on the opposite wall of the house is reflected onto the projection from the lens.
