HOW TO
WATCH A
SOLAR
ECLIPSE
an artist’s guide
to making a handmade
solar
eclipse
viewer
jason lazarus 2024
Many images in this guide were borrowed off the internet, this presentation’s lead image on this slide from Life Magazine 1963: https://www.life.com/nature/solar-eclipse/, more images from this collection appear throughout the guide.
HOW TO
WATCH A
SOLAR
ECLIPSE
A brief announcement first!
I’m issuing a PUBLIC INVITATION to participate in a public art project that endeavors to become the world’s largest archive of used handmade solar eclipse viewers–each one named by the name, age, and location used of each project participant.
The collection, to be titled APRIL 8, 2024, is designed to become a safety net for those who might otherwise toss their viewers in the trash.
If you’d like to donate your used handmade solar eclipse viewer after the upcoming April 8, 2024 eclipse, include your name, age, and town the eclipse viewer was used in, and ship to:
Jason Lazarus
304 w Crest Ave
Tampa, FL 33603
*Please include a return address
so that I may send you a signed
artist thank-you print celebrating
the eclipse!
Include your Venmo if you’d like your shipping reimbursed!
My research on solar eclipses started on the campus of the University of South Florida, August 21, 2017 and led to a archive installation at the Orlando Museum of Art (SEE HERE). I’m an Artist and Associate Professor of Art who for 20 years has been making work about vision and visibility. Learn more at jasonlazarus.com
HOW TO
WATCH A
SOLAR
ECLIPSE
the PEEK-A-BOO
BRUSHING THE CHEEK
the SUN VISOR
some handmade solar eclipse viewer tactics:
the BLOCKHEAD
CLENCHED FIST
the GRID…
the PEEK-A-BOO method
In the peek a boo method, you create an ‘APERTURE’ (pinhole) on one side of the viewer
On the other end you simply need a white surface as a ‘PROJECTION SCREEN’ (you can use white paper or white paint)
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ any kind of opening, on the other end of the device to see the projected eclipse
this method uses a ‘viewing window on the side’ rather than placing the aperture and viewing portal on same end of viewer
You can do this with any box, works better if it’s long and skinny!
PEEK-A-BOO method
Thi series uses cylindrical cardboard objects, also good with paper towel cardboard
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ on the other end of the device from your aperture (one the side) to see the projected eclipse
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ --any kind of opening, on the other end of the device, on the side, to see the projected eclipse
the PEEK-A-BOO method
In the peek a boo method, you create an ‘APERTURE’ (pinhole) on one side of the viewer
On the other end you simply need a white surface as a ‘PROJECTION SCREEN’ (you can use white paper or white paint)
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ on the other end of the device from your aperture (one the side) to see the projected eclipse
this method uses a ‘viewing portal on the side’ rather than placing the aperture and viewing portal on same end of viewer
PROJECTION
the PEEK-A-BOO method
In the peek a boo method, you create an ‘APERTURE’ (pinhole through foil) on one side of the viewer
On the other end you simply need a white surface as a ‘PROJECTION SCREEN’ (you can use white paper or white paint)
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ on the other end of the device from your aperture (one the side) to see the projected eclipse
this method uses a ‘viewing window on the side’ rather than placing the aperture and viewing portal on same end of viewer
Another peek-a-boo side-viewing hole shown here
Create a ‘VIEWING WINDOW,’ on the other end of the device from your aperture (one the side) to see the projected eclipse
the PEEK-A-BOO method
the PEEK-A-BOO method
the PEEK-A-BOO method
In this example, both the pinhole and viewing hole are on the same side of your box, I call this brushing the cheek method, it’s risky as you constantly risk blocking the light coming in from behind you with the side of your head
the BRUSHING THE CHEEK method
the BRUSHING THE CHEEK method
the BRUSHING THE CHEEK method
BRUSHING THE CHEEK
BRUSHING THE CHEEK
BRUSHING THE CHEEK
THE SUN VISOR
Take any any open box
Make an aperture hole with the tip of a push pin or paper clip in tin foil that’s covering a bigger hole you create in the box end facing you.
Alternately, you can use a pen tip for a rougher, slightly bigger hole.
Make sure to adhere a piece of bright paper to the far end
THE SUN
VISOR
THE SUN
VISOR
THE SUN
VISOR
THE BLOCKHEAD
THE BLOCKHEAD
“”During the solar eclipse of 1960, hundreds of people had suffered permanent eye damage from looking directly at the sun. With help from the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Emerson students avoided the same fate [for the 1963 eclipse] by building ‘Sunscopes’ pinhole camera-like contraptions that indirectly project an image of the sun…”
THE BLOCKHEAD
THE BLOCKHEAD
Take a sheet of paper and make a tiny hole in the middle of it using a pin or a thumbtack. Make sure that the hole is round and smooth.
With your back towards the Sun, hold 1 piece of paper above your shoulder allowing the Sun to shine on the paper.
The 2nd sheet of paper will act as a screen. Hold it at a distance, and you will see an inverted image of the Sun projected on the paper screen through the pinhole.
To make the image of the Sun larger, hold the screen paper further away from the paper with the pinhole.
Make a Pinhole Projector
THE COLANDER: a Readymade Pinhole Projector
CLENCHED FIST: a Readymade Pinhole Projector
LEAFY TREES:
Nature’s
Pinhole
Projector
THE GRID:
Overlaid fingers
become an
eclipse
projector
THE GRID:
Overlaid fingers
become an
eclipse
projector
DIY Projector with Binoculars or Telescope
Put the binoculars or the telescope on the tripod. Use duct tape to make sure that it is steady.
Trace the lenses of the telescope or binoculars on the cardboard, and cut out the holes.
Tape the cardboard in front of the binoculars or the telescope so that the lenses stick out of the holes.
If there are any holes or spaces between the cardboard sheet and the lenses, cover them with duct tape.
Direct the binoculars toward the Sun without looking at the Sun directly.
Place the sheet of the paper on the ground at a distance below the eyepiece.
Move the paper around until you see the Sun's image projected on the paper.