my plexiglas and light sculptures

Leonardo

My Plexiglas and Light SculpturesAuthor(s): Jim HillSource: Leonardo, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jan., 1970), pp. 9-17Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1572047 .

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Leonardo, Vol. 3, pp. 9-17. Pergamon Press 1970. Printed in Great Britain

MY PLEXIGLAS AND LIGHT

SCULPTURES

Jim Hill*

Abstract-The author describes his search for a delicate balance between emotional expressiveness and intellectual content in art in order to achieve a style which is both personal and meaningful to society.

He mentions briefly his experience in making computer drawings. He describes in detail his use of modern materials and of electrical techniques to make light sculptures that give a sense of mystery. He believes his light sculptures produce enigmatic moods and talismanic references. They are balanced by his use of mathematical proportion for the plastic shapes inside a box and by modern methods of construction. The simplicity of the shapes chosen contrasts with the effects of flashing lights on Plexiglas in the interior of the box. The random cycles of flashing lights is produced by the use of thermal interrupters.

He plans in the future to introduce greater control of light sequences to contrast with the random cycles. Eventually he intends to use lights controlled by electronic circuits instead of thermal interrupters to mystify the viewer even further.

I. INTRODUCTION

'How to move individuals to recog- nize the heartbeat of our time, how to move human sensibilities to respond in an affirmative, creative way to challenges of today are key problems of social communications, and, thus, of creative vision' [1].

This statement by Gyorgy Kepes in 1965 stresses important questions for artists in our society. It contains two objectives-perception and involve- ment. Both are necessary for a positive, construc- tive development in society as well as in the arts. The artist must learn to consciously perceive his cultural environment. He must study its structure to learn which parts have become obsolete or trivial and which offer hope for the future. In addition, the artist must be actively involved and act with reasoned commitment upon what his perceptions have shown him.

The artist serves society as a teacher of certain aspects of the present. Marshall McLuhan explains this function as follows: 'The power of the arts to anticipate future social and technological develop- ments, by a generation and more, has long been recognized.... Art acts as radar acts as "an early alarm system". . . . This concept of the arts as prophetics, contrasts with the popular idea of them

* Artist living at Route 2, Box 203, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A. (Received 31 March 1969.)

as mere self-expression' [2]. McLuhan describes the artist's function as one which presents current social and technological changes to society. The visual artist makes objects which are of abstractions of selected portions of the present social environment. These abstractions teach or explain to the public things which the artist thinks are important in his culture and describes directions in which they may develop.

Art, as 'an early alarm system', maintains a vital social function in contrast to the concept of art as a catatonic retreat from society or as an ego- centric manner of expression. Kepes' point of view helps explain McLuhan's negativism towards those who accept 'mere self-expression'. Kepes says: 'They shrink the world to a rebellious gesture, to violent graphs of the cornered man. "The big moment came", as an articulate spokesman of this group has put it, "when it was decided to paint ... just to paint. The gesture on the canvas was a gesture of liberation from value-political, aesthetic, moral". But in fact these artists recoil from the necessary vital dialogue with the outside environment and, thus, have broken the essential unity of the seer and the seen' [1]. 'To paint . . . just to paint' has no valid place in a progressive social environment. Gestural art constricts itself to problems of or hypotheses of art until it develops phobias to everything but itself.

Artists who deal only with the history and criti- cism of art may become so constrictive as to become isolated from an appreciation of the universal

9



Jim Hill

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Fig. 1. 'Diamond Crusade', digital computer drawing, 12 x 9 in., 1969.

truths of natural phenomena. Kinetic and light sculpture, having freed itself from this isolation, can explore and assimilate not only ideas about art but about science, about society and about life. I find this freedom more rewarding than the dan- gerous possibility of an incestuous relationship with the secluded world of self-expression.

II. COMMENTS ON MY WORK

My encounter with the kinetic sculptor Charles Mattox led me to a different concept of art. His sculpture did not influence me as much as the philo- sophical questions that he raised. The question of the artist's role in today's society is an example. If the visual artist's function is to remain important, then he must absorb that which is meaningful to

the present and put it into a form of visual expression. Mattox's presentation of kinetic sculpture embodied a knowledge and awareness of technology and industrial materials. Because I accepted the implications of his sculpture, I began to search for things that would be meaningful to the present and to myself. New materials and techniques such as plastics and electronic devices demanded more pre- cision than traditional ones; therefore I studied their properties and characteristics as well as the industrial methods for their fabrication. These studies have been of greater importance to my present sculpture than my first experiments with light and motion. Mattox influenced me to change my interests from a private and personally-involved artistic attitude to one that involved a wider comprehension of things in our environment which have an artistic potential.

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My Plexiglas and Light Sculptures

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'To get more random motion and less predictable movement in the work is important . . . I am interested in technology and science of this era and its effect on our culture . . .' [3].

This statement by Charles Mattox reflects our common interest, and his influence can be traced through the cultivation of random effects. Charles Mattox uses motion and sound with more emphasis upon mechanical devices; whereas, I have changed this interest to exploit effects of light and color sequences. We both share a common philosophy, but we express it with different media and indepen- dent of each other.

A second influence on my work resulted from my introduction to the electronic computer. Richard Williams and Charles Mattox initiated a program at the University of New Mexico in 1968 that encouraged students and artists to experiment with computer drawings. (Figs. 1 and 2 are examples of my computer drawings done in 1968 and 1969.) After I had become accustomed to the novelty of this experience, I realized that the computer was only a tool and that it had inherent capacities to express visual ideas of an artist as programmer. I decided to learn more about the way computers function. This study gave me a better appreciation of scientific and mathematical principles [4]. I also read electronic textbooks [5] and constructed electronic circuits that converted colored light into

sound with a different sound for each light fre- quency and intensity.

Popular distrust of electronic computers remains an obstacle to their eventual greater acceptance by society. However, as long as this situation exists, computers will give rise to phobias which are typical of unexplained anxieties. A recent example is the science fiction film 2001-A Space Odyssey. Appre- hension of technology is exploited by the plot when a computer confronts man in a life and death struggle for environmental control. This episode reflects a social fear which is characteristic of man when he does not comprehend something.

The computer is a great threat to artistic sensi- bility because it challenges art to evoke more than physical sensations. It champions logic, thought and reason; these qualities are direct opposites to the effects produced by manual dexterity. A com- mercial artist or an industrial designer can learn to control his hands but it is more important to think out and to express visual conceptions of relevance to society. The computer cannot replace man for it cannot make subjective or emotional decisions that are necessary in the expression of significant visual ideas. Many artists fear the computer partly because of its challenge to traditional respect for manual dexterity; however, the main reason is the fact that artists have not investigated its technical potentialities from the point of view of art. If artists ignore the computer, the artistic spirit will be further alienated from our culture.

11



Jim Hill

Fig. 4. 'Sine Wave Reflections', light sculpture, Plexiglas illuminated with colored lights, wood and Formica, 20 x 12 x 8 in., 1969. (Photo: R. Ayre and E. Basha, Jr.)

III. FORMAT AND CONSTRUCTION OF MY SCULPTURES

My sculptures have a format of three parts that can be distinguished within the single unit of each work (cf. Figs. 3-6). The materials are Plexiglas, light bulbs, black Formica, chrome edging and chrome cap nuts. The first part is an upper box which is made of-3 in. Plexiglas. The function of this box is to isolate the interior object and to prevent the lower box from just becoming a base. The second part is an interior object. This object is made of '-in. sheets of clear Plexiglas. Each sheet has an outside perimeter of a square or rectangular shape and an inside shape of a sine wave combined with a circle or an oval (cf. Figs. 7-9). Individual pieces of the interior object are bolted together with chrome cap nuts. The third part is the glossy black box, which has a hinged door with a magnetic catch. This door allows an efficient changing of light bulbs

but it is very inconspicuous. Lights are mounted in the interior; a white interior is used to reflect light. A hole, which is the same size as the interior object, has been cut in the top of the lower (black) box in order to illuminate the interior object directly above the hole. A false top is placed '-j of an inch above the top of the lower box in order to stabilize the interior object (cf. Fig. 9). The interior object drops through the false top and rests on a clear sheet which has been set flush to the top of the lower box.

A -3 in. plastic strip is glued to the interior object and wedged between the false top and the lower box. The top is compressed over the strip with bolts using chrome cap nuts. A --in. chrome edging is placed around the joint where upper and lower boxes meet to conceal the mechanism between the false top and the top of the black box. The edging helps to unite the two boxes.

The structure of the sculpture and the organiza- tion of parts achieve stability through the use of

12



Fig. 3. Illuminatedpart of'Sine Wave Frequencies', light sculpture, Plexiglas illuminated with colored lights, sheet metal, 30 x 18 x 48 in., 1969. (Photo: R. Stejskal) Sculptures courtesy of Esther-Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

[facing p. 12]




Fig. 5. 'Erros', light sculpture, Plexiglas illuminated with colored lights, wood and Formica, 20 x 12 x 6 in., 1968. (Photo: R. Ayre and E. Basha, Jr.)

perimeter shapes and mathematical proportions. The rectangular form of the box unifies the active design within the interior object. A circle was chosen as a contrast to the cubic shapes of its perimeter. Patterns in each sheet were derived from mathematical sine waves. Other interior objects which do not have sine wave shapes were extensions from the sides of the first sine wave pattern.

The structure and its materials are constants; the light and its motion are the variables. The shape of the box, derived from mathematical proportions (basically a 2:3 relationship), conservatively contains or, one might say, stabilizes the activity in the interior. Repetition of constants, such as the plastic sheets, reinforces the motionlessness of the structure. The light action on the interior object makes a contrast between this structure and itself, and the refracted, prism-like distortions of light conflict with the stable elements of the vertical box. An

opposition of factors has been obtained and the product is, in a way, like the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol. The constants dominate but in the dark the variables of light change the meaning and character of the constant arrangement and proportions. Variation of light is the basic function, however, both environments are necessary to express my intent.

Interior colored lights belong to only one-half of the sculpture's two-fold purpose. I shall refer to this half as Function One, which is a chromatic development of light in a dark exterior environment. Function Two involves a constant exterior light environment that illuminates the unchanging arrangement of the object's structure in the traditional manner of art object presentation. In daylight or electric light, the interior colored lights cannot illuminate the plastic with enough intensity to clarify the chromatic purpose of Function One.

13



Jim Hill

Fig. 6. 'Cross Currents', light sculpture, Plexiglas illuminated with colored lights, wood and Formica, 20 x 12 x 8 in., 1968. (Photo: R. Ayre and E. Basha, Jr.)

Therefore, my work has a dual function and both must be self-sufficient.

Function Two deals with what I call the 'Box Mystic'. Something encased in a glass box becomes more special or sacred as, for example, artifacts in a museum or a church. Because the object is isolated from human control, it achieves an energetic force or life of its own. The object is beyond human desires or aspirations. I believe that man tends to develop myths or subjective philosophies to explain phenomena beyond man's comprehension. Human psyche may not change but the stimuli which affect man's ability to understand the inexplicable does change from one age to another. Even though my work is deeply concerned with technology, I believe it contains a talismanic reference because stimuli have evolved enough to allow technology to mystify or affect our emotional comprehension.

In Function One, the illumination of the interior plastic object intensifies this feeling of supernatural

power because the light sequences occur at random and usually never in the expected pattern or speed. One would like to impose his will upon the speed and probabilities of color combinations; however, the sculpture cannot be controlled. Instead, it forces the viewer into watching its behaviour. This inability of the viewer to anticipate the sculpture's next state creates the magical qualities which I associate with talismen. To the person observing the sculpture, it becomes baffling, perplexing or enigmatic. The apparently self-generating oscilla- tions of the plastic parts approach the inexplicable because the cause of the variations of light is hidden.

There are no complicated circuits or programed timers to regulate the lights. Instead, I use, as other artists have done, small incandescent lamps which are commonly used as Christmas tree lights. Resist- ance to electrical current through a tiny metal bar acts as a switch. The electrically produced heat expands the bar until it breaks contact with one

14




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end of the filament in the bulb. As the gas cools, the bar contracts until it again makes contact with the filament to turn on the light. Random cycles produced by the thermal interrupters occur with a probability of over 60 per cent. The color of each lamp can be changed by painting it with transparent paint. I use a lacquer base paint. The timing of each lamp cannot be altered. Since these lights blink in a random fashion, sophisticated color combinations can be produced with little expense and effort.

Enclosure of the interior light bulbs eliminates the stigma of 'the mechanical' and allows illumination alone to become a major stimulant. In fact, my sculptures are not glorification of the machine. An admiration or hate of the machine, as such, is, I believe, a relic of the last century. In our society simple mechanical devices are being replaced by more complex systems. Burnham describes the change as a shift to a 'systems-oriented culture' [6]. My sculpture reflects this break by utilizing kinetic

2

systems of light, sound and motion without visual evidence of the mechanical means of producing one or a combination of these effects.

I have eliminated physical motion in the sense of change of position with time in order to allow the changes of light with time to become more stimu- lating and meaningful. Motion combined with light sequences presents too much for the eye to perceive if my intent for Function One is to be met, that is, to provide a subjective feeling of light. In this way, the interior object maintains its delicate balance of constants, derived from reason, and variables, which produce the sensations of my original intention. Mobility has been expressed by on-off light. The random light patterns appear to move the object in space whenever a rapid or un- expected change happens, such as a quick pulsating sequence from high-intensity red to low-intensity blue. The placement of light bulbs also gives an illusion of motion. When a red lamp flashes on one side of the interior and the same color flashes on the other side as the first stops, the effect produced on the viewer is that of a color moving through each sheet of Plexiglas from one side to the other.

Since light passes directly through a plate of Plexiglas, colors can only be seen on the edges of this material. Some designs for interior objects are seen from the plate side. This type utilizes the linear qualities of the patterns. I also make another design with or without cut patterns but the view is from the sides of many sheets of Plexiglas instead of from the plate side. This type produces more refractions and allows more light transmission (cf. Fig. 6).

The randomly variable light flashes, which produce effects that appear to the spectator to have no technical basis, together with the constant structure

15



SIDE VIEW WITH FALSE TOP IN PLACE

Interior object

Exterior box

Chrome cap nuts I

False top r Stabilizer

Black box

FLASHING INCANDESCENT LAMP

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Filament

Timing bar

Permanent contact point

Fig. 9. Details of construction and offlashing incandescent lamps.

demonstrate my concerns with technology and fabrication techniques. This combination produces a unique object with a jewel-like quality. The sizes of my sculptures also reinforce their jewel-like qualities. The choice of black gloss Formica, transparent Plexiglas and a slim strip of chrome enriches the enigmatic qualities. The jewel-like preciousness, the subjective effects created by the illuminations, the talismanic imagery of Function Two and the contrast of constants and variables express my positive attitudes about myself as an individual in our technologically oriented culture.

The material, aesthetic and intellectual development of my sculpture is not concluded, for I have

only begun this work. I plan a greater control of the light sequences to make a contrast with the periods of random change. I may expand the interior object to the dimensions of the exterior box so that the encasing plastic box will not be necessary. I will combine the sine wave and the edge pattern designs; this will maintain abundant illumination and develop my original interest in the sine wave refraction of light seen only from the edges of Plexiglas. Eventually I plan to use electronic circuits to operate the lights as well as the thermal interrupters. The basic concepts of my light sculptures are flexible enough to allow me to develop them as my artistic ideas grow.

REFERENCES

1. The Nature and Art of Motion, Ed. G. Kepes (New York: George Braziller, 1965) pp. 5, 11.

2. M. McLuhan, Understanding Media (New York: Signet Books, 1964) p. xl. 3. American Sculpture of the Sixties, Ed. Maurice Tuchman (sponsored by the Contem-

porary Art Council, distributed by the New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, Conn. Copyrighted 1967 by Los Angeles County Museum of Art).

4. R. R. Christian, Introduction to Logic and Sets, 2nd Ed. (Waltham, Mass.: Blaisdell, 1965).

5. H. V. Hickey and W. M. Villines, Jr., Elements of Electronics (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961).

6. J. Burnham, Systems Esthetics, Artforum, 7, 32 (September 1968).

16 Jim Hill

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My Plexiglas and Light Sculptures 17

Mes sculptures a base de Plexiglas et de lumiere

Resume-L'auteur decrit sa recherche d'un equilibre sensible dans l'art entre l'expression emotionnelle et la satisfaction intellectuelle, dans le but de parfaire un style qui soit a la fois personnel et comprehensible par les autres.

I1 mentionne brievement ses experiences de production de dessins par des ordinateurs. I1 decrit de maniere detaillee comment il se sert des materiaux modernes et des techniques de l'electricite pour faire des sculptures lumineuses qui donnent une impression de mystere. A son avis, ses sculptures lumineuses provoquent des humeurs enigmatiques et des references talismaniques, qui sont equilibrees par l'utilisation de proportions mathematiques pour les formes de plastiques 'a l'interieur d'une boite et par des methodes de construction modernes. La simplicite des formes choisies contraste avec les effets de traits de lumiere sur le Plexiglas a l'interieur de la boite. Les cycles aleatoires de jets de lumiere sont obtenus grace a des interrupteurs thermiques.

L'auteur projette d'introduire un plus grand controle des sequences lumineuses pour faire contraste avec les cycles aleatoires. I1 a meme l'intention d'utiliser des lumieres controlees par des circuits electroniques au lieu d'interrupteurs thermiques afin de mystifier davantage le spectateur.



my plexiglas and light sculptures

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