Der dynamisierte Augenblick

Zoetrop* / Optokinetic object, 2011

The optokinetic object visualizes movement by the mechanical stringing together of moments. Following a research approach, the zoetrope is an example for the representation of visual perception processes that create the illusion of moving images. The Zoetrope consists of a metal drum with regularly arranged, vertical viewing slits. The number of individual images located on the inside corresponds to the number of slits. If the drum is rotated around its own axis, the slits in front of the eye are quickly pulled past, creating a constant alternation of image and darkness. The inertia of the eyes leads to the merging of the single images. The linguistic naming of what is visually perceived occurs through the sequence of individual images that form in time. Only through the dynamization of the moments does the wheel that is building up become visible. The zoetrope [gr.: zoe = life, tropo = turn] is also called the wheel of life. It is thus a metaphor for the fact that moving things are perceived as animated in the visual realm. Zoetrop* William George Horner (1786-1837)