Slow Dance is a picture frame that makes real objects appear to move in slow motion. By taking advantage of the limits of human visual perception, this optical illusion sculpture appears to be doing the impossible—right before your eyes. Slow Dance combines technology, science, and art, in order to remind us of the natural mystery, beauty, and wonder that surround us every day.

Design Team

Jeff Lieberman

Dan Paluska

Nick Chelyapov

Hannah with Flower Insert a plant and watch it dance

People Reacting People reacting to seeing Slow Dance for the first time

Limited Edition There are 10 limited edition, numbered and signed, walnut versions by craftsman Forrest Stone.

Mode 1 Mode 1: Slow Dance - in this mode the object appears to move in slow motion.

Mode 2 Mode 2: Double Trouble - in this mode it looks like the object starts as one, and splits into two parts before reforming!

Mode 3 Mode 3: Pop and Lock - in this mode the object looks like it jumps through space, the way that slow motion movies in the 30s did!

Mesmerizing It's possible to watch it for hours

Schematic The components inside

Slow Dance looks like a picture frame, except there's no picture and no glass. Instead, there are just two clips made to hold objects inside the frame.The sculpture quiets the mind with an unexpected beauty that appears right in front of us—lowering our stress, and bringing our attention to the present. "Slow Dance" is an easy way to meditate and a relaxing reminder to slow down.

You bring the objects to Slow Dance—it is a blank canvas for you to compose. From flowers in the garden to bird feathers, each object will reveal a new slow motion experience. The world that Slow Dance reveals seems to be never-ending—each new object is enchanting and the possibilities are endless.

Slow Dance is made from a sturdy 2" pine wood frame. Two springs hold objects in the frame, lit from recessed LED lighting.

Strobe lights are nothing new—extremely fast strobe lights help us to see fast motions. On a dance-floor, strobe lights turn us into stop motion animations. But Slow Dance puts strobe light to use in a different fashion.By using high speed strobe lights, blinking 80 times a second, your eyes cannot even see that they are blinking—the light looks continuous. By synchronizing the strobes to the high-speed vibration of objects (feathers, branches, flowers, etc), we create the visual illusion of those objects moving in slow motion. This is a phenomenon called persistence of vision, and works similarly to the way a TV works—by flickering frozen images quickly enough that we perceive them as continuous motion.

By varying the timing of the strobe lights, it's possible to make the objects look like they move in impossible ways—moving in slow motion, jumping discretely to new positions instantaneously, and more. The objects can even be touched, and appear to be moving in slow motion despite the user's interaction.

Learn More About This Projectx