New York artist Devorah Sperber has always been fascinated by the science behind vision, curious to understand how viewers experience her artwork. 鈥淎s a visual artist,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 cannot think of a topic more stimulating and yet so basic than the act of seeing.鈥� To explore the process of sight, Sperber recreates famous works of art out of pixelated abstract sculptures.
Sperber begins by deconstructing an image into pixels, then reassembles it using reels of coloured thread to represent each pixel. These are strung together to form a huge sculpture and the entire ensemble is then hung upside down, to reflect the way images are projected upside down on our retinas. A clear, acrylic sphere is positioned in front of the sculpture for viewers to peer through, so that what originally seems to be a huge abstract tapestry of coloured cotton suddenly appears as an iconic image.
The sculpture pictured here, After van Eyck (2006), is based on Jan van Eyck鈥檚 Man in a Red Turban (1433) and is made of 5024 spools of thread. Sperber uses reels of thread because they are available in more than 300 colours and 鈥� side-on 鈥� appear square, like digital pixels. The use of thread creates a contrast between high and low technology, with the brain 鈥渟ewing鈥� together a digital image. Sperber always works with masterpieces because they are such familiar images, leaving the viewer all the more surprised when they emerge. Her rendition of Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 The Last Supper is almost 9 metres wide and made from 20,736 spools of thread.
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The disparity between the sculpture seen with the naked eye and the same sculpture seen through the viewing sphere is intended to make viewers think more deeply about the act of sight. We do not see the world merely as it is, her pieces remind us; we see the end product of the brain鈥檚 information processing.
鈥淭he Eye of the Artist: The Work of Devorah Sperber鈥� is at the Brooklyn Museum in New York until 6 May.