Some real turn-ons
Pizzuti Collection exhibition uses wattage to good effect
When you think about it, museums and galleries can be considered as places of illumination. Visitors seek out such institutions to discover works of art that might shine light on the natural world, social issues or humanity as a whole.
An exhibit that revolves around light itself, however, is rare.
Currently on view at the Pizzuti Collection of the Columbus Museum of Art, the group show “Light” consists of 10 works that make use of illumination. Included in the exhibit — which continues through May 12 — are works made out of neon, as well as three that actually flash.
In January, the Pizzuti Collection officially donated its Short North building and 40 of artworks to the museum. “Light” is the first new exhibit to be presented since the partnership between the two organizations was finalized.
Museum head of exhibitions and curator of contemporary art Tyler Cann said that the show, which was already in the works before the partnership, serves as an illustration of the richness of the collection.
“The show demonstrates the depth of the collection — that you actually could do an exhibition of works that fully illuminate themselves from the Pizzuti Collection,” Cann said.
Yet the pieces on display are far from uniform.
“All of these works use light as a medium or material ... but the ends to which they use that are all quite different,” Cann said.
Upon entering the gallery, viewers will find themselves standing in the shadow of Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s “Bloody Forever,” a huge blinking sign that makes use of red-hued lightbulbs to form the word “Forever.” Beneath the word hang stray bulbs that suggest dripping blood. The work is delightfully tawdry.
Light bulbs also are used to memorable effect in a pair of pieces by Alejandro Almanza Pereda. In “White Carpet Treatment,” white and dark bulbs are arranged in a diamond pattern that resembles a rug; in “Untitled (7x7),” a concrete slab hides rows of white bulbs, which prop up the slab.
An entire room at the gallery is kept at a low light level to best present several works using neon signage. Andrea Bowers’ “Womxn-women” proposes modifying the word “women” in order to separate it from the word “men”; in the bold, brash sign, the letter “e” flashes in red before the letter “x” replaces it in light blue.
Equally au courant is Patrick Martinez’s “Multicultural vs. Western,” which wades into the sometimes contentious subject of sports team names and logos. Included here is the controversial emblem of the Washington Redskins alongside the blander trademark of the Carolina Panthers. In the center — perhaps refereeing the team logo controversy — are two New England Patriots trademarks.
Less academic and more accessible is Claire Fontaine’s “Please God Make Tomorrow Better,” which presents the phrase named in the title as it flashes on and off; the work is the visual embodiment of a prayer.
In some ways, the most powerful piece in the show is the simplest: Spencer Finch’s “Sunset (South Texas 6/20/03)” uses a series of brightly colored bars — like the control panel in a movie spaceship — to replicate the colors of one specific Texas sunset from more than 15 years ago; the artist gleaned information about the color value of the sunset using a device known as a colorimeter. The piece itself is striking to look at, but the way the colored light fills the gallery space is genuinely evocative of the quality of light encountered close to dusk.
Viewers of the exhibit can expect to leave illuminated — literally and figuratively.
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