I couldn’t choose just one optical toy, so I’m leaving you with three – all built on pedal power! Because what’s better than optical bicycles?

Jodie Mack’s Bike-Cycle
A zoetrope geared to the pedals of experimental animation heroine Cecile Starr’s exercise bike. The documentation from this piece comes from Mono No Aware. I really wish I could have been there to experience it.
https://vimeo.com/album/2176973/video/55208584
(More optical toys by Jodie Mack: https://vimeo.com/album/2176973)

Peter Hudson’s Sisyphish 2002 and Deeper 2004
Bike powered, large scale, 3D stroboscopes. The magic of the stroboscope is that you don’t need walls and slats, or even mirrors — the strobe light functions like a shutter to create the motion. There are quite a few stroboscopes out there, but I love the simplicity of powering the entire mechanism, especially one this large, to just a bike. The documentation for both stroboscopes is from Burning Man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljFqF-TCBok

Tim Wheatley’s Cyclotrope
These two experiments synchronize the spinning of a bicycle wheel with the shutter of a camera to create the animations you’re seeing on screen. Although probably not a true optical toy, since the animation depends on the camera, these are too cool not to share with you.
https://vimeo.com/21016797 & https://vimeo.com/33991842
(For more about the Cyclotrope Project by Tim Wheatley:http://thecyclotrope.blogspot.com/)
I’m so thankful and honored to have had the opportunity to curate this month’s movies. I hope you all have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. If you’re interested in learning more about these and other optical toys, check out the Laura Hayes and John Howard Wileman Exhibit of Optical Toys at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. (http://courses.ncssm.edu/gall…/collections/…/opticaltoys.htm)

I’d love to see what you’re making, too!

Yay for film!
heart emoticon charlotte