In his discussion of the zoetrope and other pre-cinematic optical devices, Jonathan Crary observes, "Even though [these devices] provide access to "the real," they make no claim that the real is anything other than mechanical production" (Techniques of the Observer, 132).
Fish Bowl is a live-feed video projection of a zoetrope animation. In Fish Bowl, the viewer participates with the work by spinning a zoetrope. This activates an animation of low-resolution point-of-view photographs of someone swimming under water. As the animation loops, the swimmer momentarily breaks through the surface of the water only to re-submerge into a chaotic galaxy of air bubbles, never making perceivable progress toward the shore.
Fish Bowl from Ann Bartges on Vimeo.
Fish Bowl is a live-feed video projection of a zoetrope animation. In Fish Bowl, the viewer participates with the work by spinning a zoetrope. This activates an animation of low-resolution point-of-view photographs of someone swimming under water. As the animation loops, the swimmer momentarily breaks through the surface of the water only to re-submerge into a chaotic galaxy of air bubbles, never making perceivable progress toward the shore.
Fish Bowl from Ann Bartges on Vimeo.
