Know what an infinity mirror is? Maybe an infinity room? How about an infinity guitar?
I created this one myself!
For those who don't know, an infinity mirror effect is created by utilizing a two-way mirror, placed in front of a one-way mirror, with lights sandwiched in between.
For the musicians in the room wondering "is it playable?" the answer is: maybe.
I started tuning it and then got scared, not wanting something to come undone after how long I spent constructing it (as an art installation.)
I just didn't know how strong the plexiglass that the soundboard was made of would end up being when up against 6 fully tightened strings.
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Everyone else might be wondering: why the semi-nude repeating on the back?
Well, the repeating is supposed to mimic the infinity effect on the front.
The female nude is supposed to be a nod to the fetishism that a lot of guitarists have with their instruments.
Have you ever seen an electric guitar, completely plastered with stickers and decals?
Or what about almost every guitar case?
Have you ever met a guitarist that had a name for his instrument (almost always female)?
How about a rock concert, where for every song a new custom-built instrument would be brought out on stage?
Musicians are artists, and their instrument is the most visible symbol of their artistic identity.
So, this installation, is about that relationship.
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What you aren't seeing in the pictures:
The guitar strings are actually wound to a second set of strings that continue through their winders and up to a cage that is attached to the ceiling.
So it is suspended in midair by its strings.
The electricity to the LED strips is supplied through an actual electric guitar amp lead that is connected to and operated by an effects pedal.
See all that gold leaf?
It took a really, really, really long time
My custom method of applying gold leaf is to drop it in polycrylic, and then ONE FLAKE at a time, with a tiny paintbrush, attach it to the artwork.
This creates a raw gold effect, along with an interesting surface texture and small amount of glinting, which I found made for better viewing/photographing than flat panels of gold leaf, which can often only be appreciated at one very small angle and is very hard to capture in photography without special directional lighting.
I am going to tag some Steemit musicians I know of here: sorry for the annoyance, but I'd like some feedback from musicians, and 99% of my community is visual artists =)
@tcpolymath @paintingangels @katrina-ariel @iamevilradio
@meno's our local luthier.
My first reaction is that it's fine that it's not playable because I'm convinced I would break the mirrors pretty quickly playing it anyway. Maybe a classical guitar player would feel differently, they're less hard on them.
I like the one-mirror contrast in the sound hole.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll check out @meno
Hey bud, that looks beautiful.. did you build the guitar too?
Thanks man. I seriously considered building the guitar itself but thought about whether i was planning on actually playing the instrument and when I decided that I wouldn't, then I just disassembled an older instrument and built a new soundboard. Which I am glad I decided to do, because I then learned an immense deal of respect for luthiers after the amount of difficulty I had in finishing this project even from a "half finished" state. I had a neighbor that restores old instruments who was pretty intrigued by this project but I have yet to meet someone who builds instruments from the ground up: I always wanted to get an opinion on whether this concept would be possible to implement in a playable fashion. This means: what type of material would work both as a 2 way mirror and a workable soundboard? How would this type of soundboard affect the acoustic qualities? What amount of internal reinforcements can be built into this type of concept before the sound again becomes affected? Would having a pickup and redesigning it as a semi-acoustic electric sidestep any of the above?
This is a gorgeous and intriguing art piece. I’d probably try playing it and end up damaging it, but maybe not if I stuck to soft songs. The repeating image on the back is beautiful. Really interesting concept all around. Thanks for tagging me so I got to see this! 💞 I think music comes from the place inside us that is infinite... this instrument invites philosophy as well as simple appreciation of its beauty.
Thanks! I'm so happy to hear this from a musician!
Hello @corpsvalues, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
Thank you! I am honored!
wow, it's great
Thank you!