Squares was the first idea I had for my thesis project. It evolved over the course of the fall and winter, gaining a much more structured feeling. This piece came out of a desire to create a ‘volume’ of light. We don’t often think about the total space light occupies, and these square shafts of light gave Studio 210 a different shape- often we think about that space primarily in two dimensions, and never look much higher than an actor’s head. With these obelisks of light, the viewer was presented with a different vision of the space, larger and taller than usual. The addition of a line of mirrors at the far end of the room doubled the depth of the room (indeed, many people found the illusion so complete that they perceived the mirrors as a curtain hung 3’ off of the floor, and imagined that the space actually was twice as deep). This feeling of increased volume was aided by the addition of a scrim between the viewer and the light. The scrim helped to ‘soften’ the imperfections of the piece (shutter/optics problems, worn stage floor, ripped softgoods, etc.). More importantly, the scrim created a barrier between the viewer and the piece. Studio 210 is an intimate space for drama, and I used this feeling of a barrier to redefine the relationship of how work was traditionally perceived. This idea drew upon the work of Robert Irwin, who often used scrim or tape to exploit our inherent respect for barriers to redefine a space.

While Squares functioned as a sculptural installation, with the addition of movement it took on another level. By writing a series of linked lighting cues, I was able to experiment not only with volume, but intensity and direction as well. As it appeared in its’ final form for Lightscapes, the piece ran on about a five minute loop- creating a series of static images, as well as several ‘wave’ movement ideas, and a random ‘popping’ section. The feeling of this movement again helped to continually reshape the space.

One of the other elements of this piece that struck me was how powerful it was in its’ silence. There was no audio element to the piece, and the use of softgoods muffled much of the ambient noise. When observing Squares, I found my mind creating sounds to go along with the shifting structures of light I was seeing. I think that we’re so used to having sounds accompany such a visually strong and shifting picture, that our mind creates it in its absence. Squares was included in the Lightscapes exhibition.