Jason Little invited me to contribute to a show of machines by cartoonists, called “Comix Ex Machina,” at the Flux Gallery in June 2005. My device, “The Skinner Graduated Pictodisc,” set three hand-painted phenakistascopes spinning on record players at 33, 45, and 78 rpm. Here’s my working drawing.

I installed the record players in plastic storage bins, with clamp lamps to illuminate the disks, and set them on a black shelf. With regret, I had to abandon the periscopes; the images were so much brighter and clearer when viewed directly.

After several trials, I settled on the following, which were bold enough to withstand the inevitable wobble of the elevated spindle. They were done with acrylic on black board.