If you're a fan of shadow art, then you'll definitely appreciate this. Scientist and artist John V. Muntean crafts wood into carefully configured sculptures which, at first glance, resemble little more than amorphous clusters of random shapes; hold them beneath a light source, however, and a distinctive silhouette twists into existence.

Pretty cool, right? Keep watching. Creating a recognizable, 2D shadow from an unidentifiable, 3D shape is impressive in its own right, but Muntean takes it to another level by making each of his sculptures into a trio of thematically related projections. He describes the concept on his website:

As a scientist and artist, I am interested in the how perception influences our theory of the universe. A Magic Angle Sculpture appears to be nothing more than an abstract wooden carving, skewered with a rod and mounted on a base. However, when lit from above and rotated at the magic angle (54.74º) it will cast three alternating shadows. Every 120º of rotation, the amorphous shadows evolve into independent forms. Our scientific interpretation of nature often depends upon our point of view. Perspective matters.

You'll find dozens of video examples of Muntean's work, inluding this one, titled "Dancers," over on his website.


[Spotted on COLOSSAL]