Olafur Eliasson is know for bringing natural elements into his work to help make his viewers experience more surreal. His peice “Light Ventilator mobile” is a fan and a spotlight on either side being held up by an arm on a pivot. As the ventilator is blowing out air it moves the pivot around the room making the spotlight shine in different areas continuously. The effect he wanted people to get from this peice is to be aware that wherever you go the light will always hit your body and to be constantly looking out for the fan not to hit you. This representation of the moving fan and light makes people aware of reflextivity and how much he/she becomes aware of the environment and themselves as one. Another one of Olafur Eliasson peices is “The Weather Project” he put up a mirror on top of the cieling of the hall, uses humidifiers to create a mist in the air by adding suger and water, and placing semi-circular discs made up of lamps that shine off as yellow making it appear as the sun. People would lay on their backs trying to find themselves in the refelction of the mirror. Olafur wanted people to experince the feeling being outside while in reality they were inside, it is almost as if they are in a different world.
Although this is a good description of how some of Eliasson's work functions relative to his audience, what are your personal thoughts and feelings about the work? As an audience member who may weigh the artistic merit of the work and its potential impact, does the work succeed in what it is trying to do? You could consider why his techniques and approach succeeds in getting you interested (even excited) about seeing the work in person, or why it fails to do this.