{"id":32405,"date":"2024-08-13T20:56:15","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T19:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=32405"},"modified":"2024-08-13T20:56:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T19:56:15","slug":"anatomy-of-light-anthony-mccalls-solid-light-exhibition-at-tate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/anatomy-of-light-anthony-mccalls-solid-light-exhibition-at-tate\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of Light: Anthony McCall\u2019s \u201cSolid Light\u201d Exhibition at Tate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 IL GUrn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During this transformative period, McCall met his future wife, American conceptual artist Carolee Schneemann, and followed her to New York. It was during <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span> transatlantic flight that he conceived <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Line Describing a Cone<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>(1973), the first <\/span><\/span>of his<\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span>solid light<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> installations. In <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Line Describing a Cone,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>a point is projected onto a surface, tracing an arc<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>that gradually forms a circle<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>in a 35-minute progression<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> The protagonists of this minimalist drama (<\/span><\/span>would<\/span><\/span> the circle close? would the point’s final position align with its start?) <\/span><\/span>were<\/span><\/span> both the figure on the wall and the projector beam’s cone<\/span><\/span>. T<\/span><\/span>he projector lens serv<\/span><\/span>ed as a<\/span><\/span> paradoxical element, <\/span><\/span>a source <\/span><\/span>of the sublime<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>that one cannot gaze into directly.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Anthony McCall McCall, installation view of
Face to Face<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McCall showcased the installation in gritty New York lofts, where the presence of smoke<\/span><\/span>rs <\/span><\/span>provided texture to the light beam<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> turning viewers into participants in an impromptu performance. A particularly evocative photograph from this period captures fellow artist Gordon Matta-Clark observing “Line Describing a Cone”<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a poignant moment, given that Matta-Clark would soon create his own iconic circular incision<\/span><\/span> in the abandoned building<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s wall<\/span><\/span> in “Conical Intersect.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 IL Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a period <\/span><\/span>of designing <\/span><\/span>several <\/span><\/span>other <\/span><\/span>“solid light” installations<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>each<\/span><\/span> more complex, <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>expensive, employing multiple projectors<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>McCall ceased <\/span><\/span>their <\/span><\/span>produc<\/span><\/span>tion<\/span><\/span> by the late 1970s. Legend has it that a pivotal moment occurred during a showing of “Line Describing a Cone” at the Swedish Konsthallen gallery. In th<\/span><\/span>e <\/span><\/span>sterile environment<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>where smoking was prohibited, the work transformed into an “Invisible Line Describing an Invisible Cone<\/span><\/span>\u201d\u2014<\/span><\/span>a mishap that could have signaled McCall’s <\/span><\/span>shift towards<\/span><\/span> the Fluxus movement, though this likely wasn’t his artistic<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>intention.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 IL Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fast forward to the early 2000s, with the advent of digital projectors and, crucially, smoke machines, McCall “revived” and began to realize ideas accumulated over <\/span><\/span>a <\/span><\/span>quarter-century hiatus. His resurgence was marked <\/span><\/span>by <\/span><\/span>a series of high-profile solo exhibitions at prestigious venues: the Centre Pompidou and Tate in 2004, the Museum f<\/span><\/span>\u00fc<\/span><\/span>r Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt in 2005, and the Serpentine Gallery in 2007<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> This renewed interest continues<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>unabated, with “Solid Light” currently on display at Tate until April.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In Tate’s dimmed exhibition <\/span><\/span>hall<\/span><\/span>, light<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>assumes a sculptural presence, transmuting space and generating open abstract forms with edges evocative<\/span><\/span> of<\/span><\/span> gossamer lace. Spectators find themselves simultaneously drawn to and apprehensive of these ethereal luminous shafts. As one’s optics <\/span><\/span>adapts<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>light <\/span><\/span>transcends its role as a mere <\/span><\/span>message<\/span><\/span>, instead<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>becoming the information itself<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a <\/span><\/span>form and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>architectur<\/span><\/span>al <\/span><\/span>element.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 IL Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The <\/span><\/span>gradual<\/span><\/span> metamorphoses of<\/span><\/span> the projections<\/span><\/span>induce a deceleration of perceptual processes, a<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>calculated impact characteristic of McCall’s approach. The hybridity of the viewer’s experience manifests in<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>multiple modes of visual engagement: one might become a<\/span><\/span>n <\/span><\/span>inadvertent<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>modifier of the installation, an unstable component within<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>its structure, <\/span><\/span>or its<\/span><\/span>protagonist. Observers might witness others interact, creating shadow plays and layered effects, wander around, or seek refuge in the shadowy interstices between projections. Regardless of approach, each viewer become<\/span><\/span>s a<\/span><\/span>part of the performative aspect of the work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 IL Gurn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>McCall’s<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>installations resist imposed narratives or explicit messages. As he states,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>I<\/span><\/span> don<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>t think it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>necessary<\/span><\/span> to know what you<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>re looking <\/span><\/span>at<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> The light-saturated environment creates spontaneous<\/span><\/span> images and <\/span><\/span>metaphors; it itself is a metaphor, if one look<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>widely<\/span><\/span> enough.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the avant-garde enclave of the London Filmmakers Co-op, Anthony McCall remained relatively inconspicuous among his peers until the early 1970s, when he boldly decided todistill the cinematic medium to its most elemental form\u2014the projection beam itself. This beam, McCall noticed, possessed an untapped plastic, sculptural potential. By that time, artists like James Turrell, Bruce Nauman, Robert Irwin, and Dan Flavin had already been experimenting extensively with fluorescent, halogen, and neon light, not to mention the pioneering works of L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Moholy-Nagy and Nicolas Sch\u00f6ffer. However, McCall sought more than mere luminosity; his focus was on the modeling properties of light, its volumetric presence, mutability, and its capacity to reshape space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":32346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[],"column":[],"class_list":["post-32405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32405"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=32405"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=32405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}