Nyctous Diorama Ideation

In my last blog post, I decided on a nyctous aesthetic for my final project, characterized by late nights, urban settings, atmospheric environment, and solitary experience. By nature of the late night urban environments, illuminated color and the light fixtures themselves also become an integral part of this aesthetic. The word nyctous comes from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows as defined below:

“adj. feeling quietly overjoyed to be the only one awake in the middle of the night—sitting alone with a laptop and a cup of tea or strolling down the center line of an abandoned street—taking in the world like an empty theater between productions, stripped down to a simple black box, open to be whatever you want it to be.” [1]

For some visual context, the following image captures my conception of this Aesthetic.

A nighttime street photo with streetlight, stars, blue christmas lights, and colorful tree leaves

With the aesthetic decided, I then explored what physical artifact I could create based on it. Given that my source material stemmed from realistic photographs, a diorama was the first option that came to mind. However, simply creating a scale recreation of a nighttime scene felt too on-the-nose and lacking in atmosphere. Seeking some alternatives, I first considered a 3D zoetrope, which integrates motion by flashing a strobe light on a spinning arrangement of slightly shifted models. While I enjoy the final concept of a 3D zoetrope, all of the examples I found online felt more like an animation aesthetic than an atmospheric scene. Another alternative I found that felt more similar to a diorama was a tunnel book. Here as an example of a tunnel book from 1740, where separate illustrated panels create the illusion of a 3D scene.

1740 tunnel book from the Smithsonian [2]

Creating a 3D scene with discrete layers enables different aesthetics than those constrained to 3D objects, such as the illustrated aesthetic here. Looking to fit my Nyctous aesthetic and use more engineering materials, I settled on my final project idea, where I will use a laser cutter to raster etch silhouettes into acrylic panels. I can then add dynamic LED lights between the layers like present in a nighttime scene and situate a black sheet with holes at the very back to act as stars.

Final project plan sketch

This setup will also allow me to vary the silhouettes on each panel from more realistic to more abstract as needed to achieve the nyctous atmosphere I am going for. I plan to run the wiring for the LEDs behind the frosted sections of the panels and underneath to a control board behind the backsheet, with custom code to control the dynamic lights. And I will first complete a test cut of the acrylic panels to test how they will come out and various details of the process and look.

References:
[1] “Nyctous – The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.” Accessed: Mar. 29, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/word/nyctous
[2] S. I. Libraries, Tunnel Book, Martin Engelbrecht. 2010. Accessed: Mar. 29, 2025. [Photo]. Available: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/4554834794/
[2] S. I. Libraries, Tunnel Book, Martin Engelbrecht. 2010. Accessed: Mar. 29, 2025. [Photo]. Available: https://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/4554202783/
[2] M. Engelbrecht, J. Wachsmuth, and D. Nessenthaler, Garden scene with dancers, to be used as the set for a miniature theater. Augsburg: Martin Engelbrecht, 1740.