I think there are three ways that people respond when they see Xtra-Dimensions pieces in real life. 

The first is a quick glance that registers the image as if it were an ordinary 2D picture; if it’s not something that resonates with the viewer, they typically move on and focus on other things.

The second reaction is surprise when they see the back and learn or realize how the piece is constructed, where the cans come from, etc.  People are usually intrigued and find this aspect of the piece interesting (“This must be a lot of work – how long does it take you!?”  “How did you think of that?”  “You should hang this in the middle of the room!”).  Fun as it is to explain, focusing on this element of the artwork misses the point and diverts attention from what I think is its real value.  Enthusiastic as a customer may seem, nobody is going to buy it because of the pattern of cans on the back.

The third reaction is the one that needs to be stimulated for a customer to really get interested: they have to see a piece as dynamic and changeable. 

A painting or a photograph hanging on a wall can be beautiful and thought-provoking, but it is always going to be the same.  Aside from focal ability, there isn’t anything in a 2-dimensional piece that doesn’t meet the eye.  Sure, there are nuances from different lighting arrangements, but a conventional piece is going to look the same from across the room or up close, or from the left or the right; in short, as you move, nothing changes. 

The Xtra-Dimensions approach brings a host of new elements to the experience: what you see from afar, when you don’t notice the different components, is very different from what you see as you approach the piece and its contours become apparent.  As you move by the piece, even slightly, you register its dimensionality – almost subconsciously – and the image itself moves.  Not to be too simplistic, but every time you look at a 2-dimensional piece, you see the same thing; every time you look at an Xtra-Dimensional piece, you see something different. 

And that dynamic behavior is only part of it.  Breaking the image down into individual components provides an opportunity to introduce yet another dimension: a pattern that complements the image and brings forth further visual sensations.  The curved components of Elizabeth Carmel’s “Aspen Glow” not only mimic the curvature of the tree trunks, but the shadows they cast evoke the horizontal striations of the aspen bark.  There is the rise-and-fall of a swell across “Wailea Wave“, but the pattern of the individual components brings another feeling of fluidity, and their faceted shapes give reflections that change with view angle and lighting, like the ripples on the surface of the swell.  None of these experiences would arise from a 2D print.  (Hence the reason for calling the pieces “xtra-dimensional”…)

Not surprisingly, it’s the people who have this third reaction who are most engaged.