In his book, Gšdel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas R. Hofstadter makes reference to many of these concepts: meaning and form in mathematics, figure and ground, strange loops, paradox, and jumping out of the system. He emphasizes that ÒWhen a figure or positive space is drawn inside a frame, an unavoidable consequence is that its complementary shape -also called the ground or background or negative space -has also been drawn.Ó Figure and ground, as well as positive/negative spaces are strong elements in this project.

As the explorer enters the immersive environment, he/she is immediately surrounded by a kaleidoscope-like view aimed to distort or confuse oneÕs sense of orientation. ÊThe structure has four main walls that are flat but appear to have multiple angles and depth. ÊThe graffiti-like drawing on the walls are indecipherable, refusing to offer the viewer any further information as to what type of structure they are in and where they are to go from there. Instead, the viewer is offered a seemingly endless number of windows, presented as metaphors for the post-modern idea of multiple perspectives, through which she/he is offered glimpses of four other spaces to explore: The City, The Halls of Time, The Room of Illusions, and The Cube People.

The City depicts the contradictory concepts of nature and man-made environments by creating urban shapes such as buildings, automobiles, and city skylines, and imposing images of nature onto them. There is an interaction between positive and negative spaces. One of the simple cut out shapes is easily recognizable as a car, however, superimposed onto it are realistic images of things found in nature. From afar the natural and man-made look seamless, but as the viewer enters the city the appearance changes as shapes in the background have cut their silhouettes into the shapes in front of them. The viewers are forced to rethink the perspective of one environment vs. the idea of two separate environments fighting for space.

Another possible encounter is the Halls of Time. These three hallways explore the contradictions of time, space, nature and industry by presenting still images of nature and organic matter in a geometric square shape. ÊWhen one travels through this particular hall, the still images give the illusion of movement in a film-like fashion. Another one of the Halls of Time is a tunnel-like space made of clock faces. Time, represented by the clocks, appears to be racing past, as the viewer travels down the tunnel, while the hands of the clocks remain stationary. This experience gives the viewer a glimpse into a world where controlled motion continues while time stands still. In this case, time cannot be started rather than stopped.  

From a distance, the Room of Illusions appears only as a blinking entranceway. Only upon actual entrance of the space does the viewer realize the existence of a barrage of colored shapes. This approach acts as the first contradiction; black and nothingness reveals color and substance. Using color and motion as devices, the inside of the ÒRoom of IllusionsÓ demonstrates contradictions in the standard approach to the perception of an image. The space uses moving images and still images to show illusions of depth and motion. The Room title, ÒCeci n'est pas une illusion,Ó is French for ÒThis is not an illusion.Ó This is a reference to Rene MagritteÕs famous surrealist print of a pipe with the French subtitle, ÒThis is not a pipe.Ó ÊHofstadter discusses this painting in his book explaining that in modern art, as opposed to Romanticism, the focus was not on the realistic rendering of the subject matter, but rather the process of production and the self-reflexive nature of the artist to reveal what is being made at the moment. Magritte was telling the viewer that the lithographed print of a pipe is not actually a real pipe; hence the consideration of not what youÕre looking at within the context of the frame, but what the object really isÑa lithographed print! So, in the space, ÒCeci n'est pas une illusion,Ó itÕs a stereoptically-projected image on a screen!

Throughout the environment, there are twelve human-like figures with cube shaped heads. Each figure represents a class participant. ÊThe images include concepts of contradictions of self and identity such as artistic perspective, characteristics of personality, and personal interests. A cube is a finite mathematical volume, which is a contradiction to the complex and infinite parameters contained within our minds. It was discovered that these images were sometimes dependent upon other viewers' interpretation and individual preconceived notions of perspective and even stereotype.

By working in collaboration, this project has allowed a space for self-expression, identity and dealing with the contradictions of our society and ourselves expressed in a visual manner that stimulates the eye and the mind simultaneously. While the Halls of Time explore the ideas of motion and time, The City gives us the urban landscape as a visual puzzle of positive and negative spaces. When we venture into the Room of Illusions our senses are challenged by altering the standard approach to the perception of an image through optical illusion. The Cube People are a statement of individuality and contradictions of self, as well as the expression of how we see the world and how the world may see us.