About

The use of retro-reflective material adds a dimension of surprising and counter intuitive light displays.  Because the RR material reflects light back toward the source of the light, RR surfaces in my artwork may be completely unnoticeable until the moment when the viewer’s head lines up with the light source, creating the sudden & unexpected effect. The reflection may still be subtle or quite striking depending on how i’ve used the RR material in the particular piece, and the dynamics of the specific installation.

Variables include placement of the sculpture in its space in relation to each particular artificial and natural light source, along with the viewer’s position in the space.

DS

Retro-Reflectivity occurs when a surface or material returns a large portion of light back to its source, and no where else. Retro-reflectivity is accomplished by embedding tiny glass beads or prisms into a surface. Think about the traffic signs and crosswalks that are highly visible at night, when in the field of our car’s headlights. In contrast, a mirror is reflective but not retro-reflective because it sends light in different directions depending on the angle of the light source to the mirror.