Stephen Knapp: Lightpaintings
Rainbows are magical. Whenever a rain shower bursts on a beautiful sunny day, I always wheel around frantically to make sure I don’t miss nature’s most ephemeral show. The first time I walked into one of Stephen Knapp’s installations, I experienced the same spontaneous elation at seeing pure color spilling across the room as I do when a rainbow streaks across the sky.
Each lightpainting is generated by white light which travels across a series of cut and polished glass shapes. The pieces of glass have been treated with layers of metallic coatings that split, reflect, and splay color across the surrounding environment. Overlapping veils of color, in turn, create saturated blocks of color. Added to the interplay of colors are streaks of black, where the edges of the glass plates or hinge mechanisms throw shadows. The third dimension comes into play when our eyes acclimate to the darkness of the viewing area and our mind begins to integrate the glass plates into the composition.
As with abstract painting, I approach Knapp’s lightpaintings with the same attention I give to music or poetry. This keeps me from being too literal in my interpretation and allows me to be open to sensations and emotions. Thus, as with music, I can experience the syncopated, lyric, or noisy, and as in poetry, I can enjoy that which is evoked but not described.
—Mara Williams, Chief Curator
Gallery Brochure:
Coming soon
Location:
Center Gallery
Related events:
5/21 Lightpaintings: An Artist’s Journey
6/25 Exhibit Tour with Chief Curator Mara Williams
See also:
http://www.lightpaintings.com/
