Lucidus
PMMA Lens, gearmotor, mount, and light
2014
Lucidus, latin for “clear”, “full of light”, or “perspicuous”, is here personified by the ghost of an ancient philosopher. He is conjured from a beam of light by a smooth clear lens that I have shaped to rearrange light rays into an image. As the lens turns, Lucidus distorts and ultimately dissolves into caustics -- folds of light -- like those one sees at the bottom of a pool or fountain on a sunny day. Then the caustics coalesce to form a lucid image again, but only briefly -- all is evanescent.