# Under The Right Lighting, Albert Einstein Looks Like Marilyn Monroe

December 23, 2011

We all know nightclub lighting can play tricks on the eye, harsh fluorescent lighting may reveal a different face, but did you ever think you could mistake Albert Einstein for Marilyn Monroe?

[Drzach & Suchy](http://drzachsuchy.ch/shadow-cloud/), (previously mentioned on the [Shapeways blog](/content/blog/archives/554-3D-Printed-Shadow-Cloud.html)) have been working on a series of 3D printed shadow casting panels that allows multiple images to be encoded within a single physical object, a white panel, which displays the separate images under specific lighting conditions.

> _“The underlying principle of our technique is based on a simple_
> _observation: the shadow cast by an object depends not only on the_
> _object itself, but also on the light; therefore the same object_
> _under changing lighting conditions can totally change its_
> _appearance.”_

With [Conversation](http://drzachsuchy.ch/schattenbilder/#conversation), the technique is used to make an image of Albert Einstein transform into an image of Marilyn Monroe. See the video below for a vaguely unsatisfying demonstration.

Conversations is part of Schattenbilder, a project in cooperation with [Swiss Science Center\ Technorama](http://www.technorama.ch/) also includes [Time](http://drzachsuchy.ch/schattenbilder/#time) and [Tik-Tak](http://drzachsuchy.ch/schattenbilder/#tik-tak). Their site has a great [making of](http://drzachsuchy.ch/schattenbilder/#making-of) page as well, showing just how labor intensive some of the process were.