it's mirrors dude...

warning: not the usual sign, the left side is reminiscent of a page on the physics of optics

Recently, the Cleveland Art museum has installed a mirror sculpture outside. It is one of three by Anish Kapoor, named 'C-Curve'. It is not glass, but polished stainless steel. The news daily took fotos on the 3rd for an article on the 4th. I have a dread reading the comments on the paper's internet site. It attracts many mean-spirited typists, some virulently noxious trolls. There was some comment on this  and the 'Free Stamp', mostly unfavorable. Oldenburg has a first baseman's mitt inside the building, currently.

I like this installation. I looked at some of Kapoor's oeuvre. This is about the only one i like. It is a presentation of physics, whether that was his purpose or not. The 'C' is a double-sided mirror. The side that bulges forward in the center is a convex, or fish eye. It is used in store security. The mathematic lines have the focal points inside the mirror, so the image is not real (in size) but virtual. The closer the object, the larger it becomes, but always smaller than reality.

Now, the top picture was taken on the 1st, the next one on the 9th. After a couple of days the mirror burned the grass, especially on the other side. First they put some gravel in two spots, then all about the mirror, something like kitty litter.

These two pictures were also taken on the 1st. The one above shows the concave side (the center bulges inward, away from the viewer). The physics here is more interesting. This shape collects and concentrates light rays. The object's, depending on the distance from the focal point, image can be real, virtual, inverted, magnified or diminished in size. This mirror is in two large pieces (left and right). The convex is perfect in demonstration, i am not so sure on the concave. So often a work is presented with a verbal description and analysis (sometimes it is more artificial than the work), this work should have had the optics explained (it has not).

Here, both sides of the mirror are visible.