The Process of Illumination

Part of The View From Here,
curated by Christine Leahey

2004

see Price List

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This selection is bound together by the process of illumination, in some cases literal, in other cases implied.

The illumination of Progressive Idea is paradoxical, both present and potentially absent, both possibilities inherent in the rough drape which can be freely positioned to reveal or obscure the source.

Hope presents yet another alternative, lamps of contrasting size, big and little, displayed openly but disconnected from their trivial source of power. But is power really derived from the electrical mains, or does it exist in the mind of the beholder?

The radiance from The Lessons is literal, suggesting the possibilities inherent in the search for meaning and, at the same time, acknowledging that insights can be either frustrated or facilitated by external factors - the desktop opened up or shut tight and the cryptic blocks that have no apparent meaning.

The light of A Coffeetable is Work is implied in the folder of photographs boldly relieved from the surface, captive light from the past visible only as a ghostly alteration of light in the present moment. Studying the visual surface of the table yields no clue concerning the hypothetical content of the items arrayed on its surface. Indeed, the only assumption one can make is that one could, if it were possible, feel the three-dimensional outline of the books, the magazines, the album of photographs carefully arranged on the tabletop but not manipulate them as one normally could. They are an impossible analog for the dextrous of what it is to be blind. The only object on the table equally accessible to all is the miniature table lying loose on its surface, since a table conveys its own meaning.

For accessible descriptions of these sculptures and more images, please use these links:

Progressive Idea
Hope
The Lessons
A Coffeetable is Work

© Alison Ulman 2003