Our world is multidimensional, but it is usually depicted in flat, 2-dimensional images. What you see in a photograph stays the same as you move past it, even though you know the scene would change if you were moving in the real world. The Xtra-Dimensions approach to presenting a picture is an attempt to address some of these shortcomings: to bring images alive and to evoke elements that can’t be seen in a flat print. In short, to make a picture that is different every way you look at it.
An image through the clear waters of Lake Tahoe shows a colorful, abstract pattern of light rays playing across the bottom. What is missing are the dynamic elements of the scene: the rippled surface of the water, the movement of the light, and the surface reflections that change with your viewpoint. You know this fluidity and motion were there, but you know it from your experience, not from the photograph.
An aspen grove has a different dimensionality, one derived from overlapping components and perspective rather than physical movement. Again, from our experience we understand this depth from superposition and size differences, but those elements remain the same as we move past the picture.
Additional dimensions and unexpected patterns are found everywhere, not least in our cities and other man-made structures. Often these patterns are not immediately apparent, either in a photograph or in real life, and are only seen when presented to the viewer in a novel way.
Creating an image not from one, flat print, but from many overlapping components enables these missing elements to be brought forth. By mounting the components in different layers, the scene from Lake Tahoe can show the uneven, rippled surface of the water. The curved shape of these components brings reflections that change with lighting and viewpoint, like the lake surface itself. And their pattern brings another dimension of fluidity and movement.
An image of the aspen grove constructed from superimposed, curved components makes the depth of this scene palpable. As one moves past the piece, the subtle change in the way the components overlap is unmistakable, drawing one closer to see what’s going on. In turn, the shadows highlight the horizontal striations in the tree bark.
Jon Hope’s aerial photograph “Sunrise in the Sunset” shows row after row of houses in western San Francisco. The houses seem to be identical: same size, same pattern of windows and roof vents, same floor plan – but each is unique: different color, different architectural treatments. Giving each house its own, separate component invites this examination and highlights the diversity in a uniform community.
The suspender cables and tower of the new Bay Bridge provide contrasting axes, with the cables slanting in opposite directions and at angles that change across the image. A pattern of woven components emphasizes these crisscrossed lines, but the verticality of the central tower still dominates the scene.
