New Moon: An Interactive Light Installation Made from 5,500 Repurposed Light Bulbs
NEW MOON by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett is an interactive light + shadow sculpture inviting viewers to manipulate the phases of the moon. Exploring the whimsical and alluring nature of our nearest celestial body, the sculpture draws on the universal familiarity of moonlight to all people. A mysterious, seductive, and powerful entity, the moon draws the tides and eclipses the sun. And yet, perhaps by virtue of its relationship with night and darkness, the moon is an intimate celestial body – she casts her silver light as if for each dreamer individually. With NEW MOON, the artists build a playful allegory for the human fascination with exploration, adventure, and new frontiers, while also gently implicating the darker side of progress: humanities mortal terror of the infinite and unattainable expanses of outer space. By manually shifting the faces of the moon, viewers become temporary time travelers, altering time and space to meet, if only briefly, together in the moonlight.
The fourth in our series of light sculptures utilizing re-appropriated domestic light bulbs, NEW MOON was created from approximately 5,500 burnt out incandescent bulbs. While the brightness of the sculpture is enchanting, for us as artists, the real epiphany of working on this sculpture came from recognizing the incredible value of darkness in relation to a work characterized by light.
NEW MOON was commissioned by Lexington Art League, and installed in Lexington, Kentucky for Luminosity, a light exhibition in January/February 2014.
