The Shadow House, Friday March 13th 8:35 AM 2014 is one in a series of my conceptual public art projects. The idea is based on my observations that when a shadow is cast from any object by the sun, there is an entire three dimensional volume that makes up the shadow form, not just a two dimensional shape projected from the object. In addition, the shadow form continually changes as the sun moves around the object from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and month to month. In the Shadow House Friday March 13th 8:35 AM 2014, I have used this phenomenon to create an unexpected space expansion of the original conventional symbolic house form. A small model of the house was first built and placed in the sunlight on a horizontal surface. The specific date and time was noted as I traced the outline of the shadow cast onto the horizontal surface by the model. I then expanded the shape of the original model to include the full shape of the shadow volume. This was done by drawing straight lines from the edges of the models sunlit surfaces to the edges of the shadow plain projected onto the horizontal surface. The smaller shadow spaces projected from the windows, door, and steps, were also added. The shadow space extensions were then painted black to contrast with the original structure.
The model of the expanded house will be used to direct the construction of a full sized version for an exterior installation in a park. Of course, after the full sized structure is built, every year from then on, as long as the structure exists, and as long as the sun is shining, on Friday March 13th at 8:35 AM, the shadow of the original house will be absorbed by the shadow space expansion.
