“Things that Glow in the Dark,” the new exhibit at the Towson Arts Collective, opened Friday with a reception at the Chesapeake Avenue gallery in Towson. The small space was filled with people weaving around each other as they took in the surprisingly diverse mix of pieces.
“With TAC’s invitation to emphasize the restriction of ‘Things that Glow in the Dark,’ the focus on exaggerating light is heightened,” Quentin Moseley (who also has three pieces in the exhibit), wrote in his juror’s statement. “The selection process for this juror of the exhibit led to the inclusion of many varied ways of interpreting this exaggeration of light along with the purposeful inclusion of all kinds of approaches to media and ways of working with contemporary attitudes to art making.” And, truly, “all kinds of approaches” are on display. More than neon and black lights, although both are included, the collection contains traditional and abstract paintings, photography, light boxes, videos, interactive light drums, needlepoint and sculptures.
Artist Kris Willet mixed recycled CD boxes, color film, plexiglass, car spray paint, stencils and electric tea light candles to create her Illuminated Light Boxes. “I was exploring different mediums to try to connect with people and affirm hardships,” she said. Macabre images, such as a skull with a cell phone, are enhanced with snippets of poetry and the flickering, changing color of the electric candles within each box.
The photography in the exhibit ranges from quiet interpretations of nature (“Light in the Forest” and “Chincoteque Sunset” by Norm Dublin) to the artificial fluorescent glow of man-made constructs (“Manhattan Escalator” and “Sometimes the Light at the End of the Tunnel is Red” by Donald Struke). Abigail Ingerson Gilberton’s photographs, “Rise” and Conductivity,” provide glimpses of the female body in warm and cool light and shadow, and they create the intimate sense of witnessing private moments at dawn and twilight.
The “Kinetic Light Drums 2010” by Jenn Figg and Matthew McCormack—clear polycarbonate cylinders with speakers, wires, and LEDs inside—seemed to puzzle some of the show attendees, until they realized they could bang on them to create their own personal display of noise and light. A video compilation of kinetic light drum performances is also on display, although it was difficult to hear over the chatter of the crowd.
Cut-paper light boxes by Stephanie Garmey have an organic feel, showing delicate flowers and fern fronds lit from within. Look closer to see frogs and porcupines hiding among the foliage. Other cut-out pieces, by Katherine Fahey, display light and dark in sharp black-and-white contrast. Her shadow puppet video, “Fish,” with music by Wye Oak, plays on a laptop and harkens back to folk traditions and simple entertainment. Black paper characters act out the story of a fisherman as they dance across the screen in front of a background of shifting vivid colors.
A dark room contains pieces that benefit from a lack of overhead light, such as “Dark Box” by Josh Gillon, a wood and black light display that showcased blue, purple and orange wooden forms that made me think of cactuses. “I chose black light and a self-contained environment like a terrarium or aquarium, or a museum piece, but also like a religious shrine,” he said. “It’s like a little universe in there.”
From neon to nature, from interactive play to quiet contemplation, the exhibit shows the impact shadow and light can make in conveying an artist’s vision, no matter the medium.
– by Lisa Lance for BmoreArt
“Things that Glow in the Dark” runs through October 27, and an interactive performance of electric drums and a cut paper “cranky” narrative folk tale will be held Friday, October 26, from 6-8 p.m. http://www.towsonartscollective.org/
