9 April 2010

Here Comes The Mirror Man

When you live in a world of mirrors, can any fact go unchallenged?  When you are the mirror itself, what do you see? Who can say what thoughts were going through the mind of this extraordinary street performer when he came up with his design for the ‘Mirror Man’.

The sight of this man made of mirrors certainly must have been a surprise for the visitors to Griffith Observatory in LA late last year.  A few hours spent contemplating the far off mysteries of the universe only to have one land in front of you must have perplexed a number of people that day.

The views from the Observatory of downtown Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Basin are wonderful on a clear day.  Possibly that is the reason why the Mirror Man climbed the slopes of Mount Hollywood.  What a glorious reflection that would make, he perhaps thought.  To see the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone – as a mirror.  The mind boggles.

Paul Morand once said ‘Mirrors are ice which does not melt: what melts are those who admire themselves in them.’  Perhaps that was the main idea of the mysterious Mirror Man.  Who can say? Conceivably, it is an attempt to turn these many faceted mirrors in to windows. What do you see in the reflection?

The Human League – pop uber-icons of the eighties had a song called The Mirror Man.  Perhaps it is appropriate if we leave with a few lines from that delightful tune.

You Know I’ll Change
If Change is what you require
Your every wish
Your every dream, hope, desire.
Here comes the Mirror Man...