Cathy Cunningham-Little (San Antonio)
"Reconstructing Visual Isomers"
August 10 - September 1, 2013
On display will be a collection of vividly colorful light sculptures consisting of carefully shaped treated glass mounted to the wall in precise arrangements and lit with white light. The results of the colored shadows and reflections produce multi-hued crystalline patterns that create mirror images of each other that are not identical. They are asymmetric in such a way that the image and its mirror cannot be superimposed on each other.
"My earlier works were born from my father's loss of vision and his subsequent vivid descriptions from his memory based on his personal history. He could "see" things that were no longer objectively present and describe an image or event in his head as if it was still present in physical space and time. Because these images were externally projected, he saw them as "out there", not in his head, and could inspect them for new detail in the manner of a physically present object. Those works were an attempt to capture a reality much like my father's experience with reality.
My current works continue to explore perception using minimal materials to create images made of shadows and reflections. I am using glass that both transmits colors and reflects the complimentary colors with a simple white light to activate them. They are transient in nature, both there and not there, depending on an outside source to bring them into being. Without light they are simply a few pieces of glass on the wall. The colored reflections are mirrors of the transmitted colors, but are not a true mirror. They create asymmetrical forms and a simple shift of position can give them a whole new existence. The elements are the same, but the mirror image is a different structure.
These works can be considered a symbolic allegory that mirrors the human experience. Similar to the transience of the artwork, our personal perceptions based on our relationships with others can be correspondingly transitory. What if you make a slight shift in the perception of your life? A total change in your expectancy of life's trajectory can be brought about. Life is transitory and any changes in our reflections on life, self-made or otherwise, may not be identical to our original anticipations. Our expectancies are modified into something similar to the original concepts, but have a new structure. The mirror becomes untrue."