Daniel Rozin’s Mirrors

Daniel Rozin is obsessed with mirrors. The industrial designer from Israel is now an artist who uses all sorts of materials and objects to make mirrors. Now, these are not the normal glass mirrors. Rozin designs his mirrors to respond to viewer interactions. These mirrors are made by making a display and programing anything to just move up and down, to face towards or away from the light, to become darker or brighter. These mirrors were programmed to reflect the viewers’ form.

The project Rozin first attempted was a tile mirror with 835 pieces made of pine which was featured in WIRED Magazine over 20 years ago. He had to learn how to fabricate the tiles, move the motors and how to video capture. The wooden mirror was made out of 835 servo motors which are easy to control and have a nice humming sound. Rozin used the servo motors for the first five years of his practice. The problem with using several motors was that they are normally made of plastic and are used to fly model airplanes for ten minutes and not 24/7. So now he uses stepper motors, which are made of metal instead and are not as delicate, but they are harder to program. 

One of his latest piece was a commission for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). The mirror was made out of two traditional instrument materials, wood and brass. Rozin had to try something new with this piece. He had to design the piece so that it would actually produce sound, so when one of the tiles would go all the way up or down, it would make a little click. With each different material, the tile would make a different sound.

Overall, Rozin designs his creations for each person’s individual experience. For example, if we were to walk in front of his piece we would see ourselves in the mirror. But it would not be the typical reflection we are used to. Instead, for each of us, the various tiles built into the mirror tilt in different directions, responding to our movements. Rozin says that “The mirror is doing more than taking your image, it is capturing something about your soul and showing it back to you. These amazing works of art wouldn’t be possible without the engineer and you.”

Related Stories:

https://zachry.tamu.edu/art/daniel-rozin/
http://www.smoothware.com/danny/
https://www.booooooom.com/2016/07/16/an-interview-with-artist-daniel-rozin/