Carsten Nicolai

Sound and visual artist Carsten Nicolai is best known for his use of the moiré effect, once considered an undesirable side effect of printing, which results when a pattern is superimposed atop another pattern to give it a wavy or rippled texture. Like visual renderings of sound, Nicolai uses line, light, shadow, and air to create works that challenge and enhance perception and lend two-dimensional images the impression of three-dimensionality. Nicolai’s installation moire glass (2010) features six vertical panes of rotating glass, each printed with a different pattern, inviting viewers to participate in the effect of optical variations.