Self Illuminated, light piece at exhibition entry
In 2007 I found a book of trivia quizzes at a flea market outside Las Vegas.
The Giant Quiz Book, published in 1938 provides a snapshot of the general knowledge and interests of middle class people in the United States during the 1930’s.
The quizzes are divided into two categories; general knowledge and specialized topics, like law, etiquette, psychology, etc. The overall experience I have as a reader in the 21st century is a mixture of curiosity and wonder. I feel a telescopic effect reading the questions; familiar yet remote, part of my history and an artifact from an alien world.
Self Illuminated
2015
Glass, seeds, paper, lightbulbs, metal coils, photographs, typography
Alter Space: Peep Show Gallery
For the installation in Alter Space’s Peep Show Gallery, each “peep show” view is an illuminated assemblage inspired by the tone and content of questions from The Giant Quiz Book.
Some of the pieces incorporate text, all of them use light to illuminate the assemblages and create an atmospheric effect of the light of the 1930’s—warm sepia tones, softly glowing with shadowy forms, reminiscent of incandescent light bulbs, microscope views and black and white photographs.
I printed an edited version of the quiz questions I was most inspired by for viewers to experience and perhaps experience their own form of self illumination.
Because this installation is all about creating the color and tone of light in the 1930’s, the aesthetics of the work behind the wall became a crucial part of the piece.
