From May 17 to June 24, 2006, site-artist Stephan Koplowitz installed a room size portable camera obscura on the Lower Promenade in front of the World Financial Center in Battery Park City, NYC. His project, entitled Revealed, allowed up to 25 members of the public to walk into the camera, view the outside world from the reverse and upside down perspective as projected onto a five foot diameter screen and then walk out and have their perception "corrected". The idea was to give people a chance to experience their own perception in a new way . The camera functioned primarily as a "working" public art installation attracting over 5,000 people over the course of five weeks. Koplowitz also used the camera to stage a 30 minute site-specific performance work that became part of a two hour performance installation performed over four days from June 20-24. Before the camera was de-installed, a series of museum quality photographs were created using the camera and a H2 Hasselblad/22mp Leaf back camera. A limited edition photographic portfolio (22 images in all) is now currently on sale and available for exhibition. Award winning design firm KBAS (winners of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial design competition) collaborated with Koplowitz on the creation of this first edition/"proof of concept" camera obscura. The full version of Revealed, would be to build five cameras and have them installed throughout an environment, each one providing a different perspective, focal length and view. This book is primarily a document of the photo portfolio and the design and creation of the camera obscura.



Since the publication of this book, Revealed has been installed at both MASS MoCA (June, 2007) and the Meade Museum of Art in Amherst, MASS (October, 2007). Portfolio books featuring photography from these installations are forthcoming.