I work with light because of its emotional and symbolic power. Light has a primal attraction
to humans. It is a source of comfort, power, and beauty. It produces food, provides warmth
and power and is a beacon of security in the night. It is a symbol of knowledge, enlightenment
and goodness. It is also a singularly lovely medium.
Making books that use light to create the content marries the symbolic and the practical
aspects of light. Light in its role as symbol of knowledge illuminating the symbols which
transfer and preserve knowledge is a powerful melding of medium and meaning. The presence
projected by a book-like object in which the words and images seem to float in space between
the covers is one that appeals to human perception in a way which seems to bypass the
rational entirely. This is an irony given that the book is the human invention most responsible
for creating the information-based civilization we live in today.
The symbols I work with in the installation projects appeal to people in a primal way as well.
Petroglyphs, cave paintings, and monolithic constructions are among the earliest examples of human
artistic expression yet they retain their emotional and aesthetic impact today, tens of thousands
of years after their original appearance. The recurrence of these symbols in such contemporary
forms as crop circles, gang signs, tattoos and sports and corporate logos attests to their continuing
impact on the human psyche.
The combination of glyphic or alphanumeric forms and the symbolism of light create powerful
iconic presences that appeal to both the conscious and subconscious yearnings of humans. The
artworks utilize electricity and digital technologies yet they hearken back to the most primitive
human emotions: those evoked by the presence of fire and by light glowing against the darkness.
