Hanging Lighted Square, 2010 (solid ash, fluorescent lights, stainless steel)

This is the first piece completed in a new project that has yet to be properly titled.  “Structures” is the current working title.  The project aims to deconstruct advertising messaging in public spaces by aestheticizing the structures that hold these types of messages.  This particular piece represents a backlit sign that would normally have translucent plastic on the front and back containing the message.  Used as intended, these structures are meant to be “invisible,” with the message dominating the relationship with the viewer.  I am drawing attention to these structures by building them of an unnecessarily high quality material, omitting the message itself, and presenting the object in the context of a gallery or museum setting.

The light from this piece is intended to affect the space it occupies creating an experience for the viewer that is phenomenological.  This is counter to the usual function of advertising that serves to transport the viewer to another place and time, one that is usually implied to be better than the present.

The support structure for this piece is a nod to traditional Chicago signage common to many neighborhood businesses.