Sculptures of light from MIT to Corpus Christi
I gave a series of art talks in the high desert looking at what were bleeding-edge ideas and techniques.
"MIT gave me a new perspective of the social and ecological horizon. I learned that to be angry or unhappy is not enough. To give reality to one's social beliefs and sense of solidarity with fellow men, a disciplined, clear interpretation of the human condition is a must." —György Kepes
These words from György Kepes, the Hungarian-born artist and theorist who collaborated with László Moholy-Nagy, encapsulated structured understanding and deliberate vision. His perspective bridged technological capability and humanistic purpose, a synthesis that remains vitally relevant.
For Truly Human Technology, I traced the story of Kepes' founding of MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) to Corpus Christi, the Texas beach city, of all places. The talk briefly scanned his intellectual framework and narrowed to specific philosophical connections to CAVS Fellow Dale Eldred's 1980 exhibition at the Art Museum of South Texas, where large-scale mirror banks transformed the Gulf Coast museum into an instrument of light and perception.
It was a pleasure to share this salon-style presentation about light with a small group in the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve, the largest Dark Sky Certified place in the world. We were offered a beautiful opportunity to consider how relationships with light can deepen our understanding of both natural systems and human perception.
Project themes: Synthesis of technological innovation and humanistic purpose, light as a medium for expanded perception, place-responsive technological art.
Connected projects: There Goes Another Millennium, Fantastic Border, The Present Age, Sacred Art.
Images: Image: Kepes' Glow Column / Nishan Bichajian, Boston Museum of Science 1973, Eldred's installation at the Art Museum of South Texas, 1980. The top image is a multi-story kinetic light sculpture by my father, also create in the 1980s.
