light modulators: Light Modulators are large group of works that been evolving since 1980. My earlier work explored color, color function, and illusionary space. Although advancing several principles, this work did not undergo any radical changes until 1985. At that time, I reduced the work into the form of a simple frame and began to investigate the relationship between the frame and the physical space of the wall. This was also an obvious Duchampian–like exploration of non-art objects as art (the ready-mades). The artwork elevated the wall to the level of art. Consequently, the artwork changed depending on what surface it was displayed on.
During the same period, I was studying Gothic cathedrals and became interested in the functional and aesthetic properties of their stained glass windows. I was particularly struck by the illusionary phenomenon these windows produce: sometimes the windows appear to be part of the interior wall; at other times they become silhouetted shapes that seem to hover in space. The strength of this phenomenon varies according to the position and intensity of the sun.
It was after analyzing these windows that I began to install fluorescent lights inside my frames, creating Light Modulators. The Light Modulators are a compilation of several elements, some of which were developed by the evolution of the work itself and other which were inspired by Gothic stained glass windows.
For me, the Light Modulators continue to be an exploration of actual and illusionary space integrated with my observations of the changing light color seen in sunsets and sunrises.
about the artist:
w.t. stinson
born: 1959, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
education: 1983 BA (Art Education) Western Kentucky University
1988 MFA (Studio Art) Florida State University
selected solo exhibitions & installations:
2002 light, time, place: (Site-specific Installation & new work), 208 East Fourth Street,
Russellville, KY
2001 twin: (Installation), Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY
1997 light/dark: (Installation), Western Kentucky University
1995 gothic lights: Eclectic Electric Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1994 mozart’s lux aeterna: (Window Installation), The Capitol Arts Center, Bowling Green, KY
1993 w.t. stinson: The Omega Gallery, Carson- Newman College, Jefferson City, TN
1989 light pillars: (Site-specific Installation), The Window on Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL
selected group exhibitions:
2003 kentucky visions: Governor’s Manson, Frankfort, KY
1998 points of the compass: Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
(Curator: Allys Palidino-Craig)
1997 western kentucky university faculty exhibition: University Art Gallery, WKU, Bowling Green, KY
1993 showcase 93: The Water Tower Galleries, Louisville, KY
1993 unnatural light: The Galleria, St. Petersburg, FL
1992 between boundaries: The Florida Craftsman Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
(Curator: Claudia Sabin)
1992 color of light: The Brevard Art Center & Museum, Melbourne, FL
(Curator: Dr. Amy Vigilante)
1991 the art of light: The Neon Company, Atlanta, GA
(Curator: Kimberly Smith)
1991 photons-phonons-electrons: Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, FL
(Curator: Bruce Dempsey) Note: This exhibition was sponsored by the David Bermant Foundation and served as a survey of light, sound, and kinetic artworks created since the 1920s. Some of the artists whose artwork was included were Marcel Duchamp, Jean Tinguely, Alice Aycock, Steve Barry, Howard Jones, and WT Stinson (the youngest artist to participate).
1991 light’n up: The Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
1991 meter-measure-modulation: The capitol Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
wtstinson30@yahoo.com
