Propositions - images

statement

My work is an investigation of the interrelationship of light, space, and time. My involvement in creating installations that enable heightened sensory experience is driven by the belief that events of perceptual depth have become increasingly rare in our lived experience of the world.

Our perception system remains if flux. In the words of Heraclitus, “Change alone is unchanging.” This understanding has led me to engage the interval between perceptual events as a primary concern. By focusing on spatial and temporal voids and making this in-between legible, I aim to demonstrate the relational nature of phenomena.

I’m also interested in the potential for light to be simultaneously mysterious and factual. No artistic medium is more identified with spirituality than light but how can the deployment of light determine the way its meaning is understood? By creating viewing experiences that use the mechanics of the lighting system to demonstrate the illusory possibilities of illumination, the viewer decides which aspect of the work has the most value to them. I’m interested in exposing the subjective lens that determines when we see light.

For Propositions I have created two new pieces that are in direct response to the Area 405 space.

Located in the front gallery, Voltage Drop, 2008, is a site determined installation made up of a single theatrical projector and several hundred feet of common extension cords. This work is intended to engage both peripheral and direct vision, indicating the dynamic nature of perception.

Safelight, 2008, an installation that includes multiple light sources and a large photographic print on canvas, is located in the rear gallery space. The mechanics (lamps, cords, timers, supports) are an integral element of the display. The spatial configuration and spectral composition of the various light sources result in a range of lighting effects. The primary function of some light sources is to illuminate the surrounding gallery space while others have a greater effect in producing the photographic image. Processing of photograms will take place during the exhibition, becoming a component of the work that presents distinctly different meaning over time and underscores the shortcomings of photographic documentation when conveying first hand experience of the work.

about

Spanning the fields of design and art practice, Glenn Shrum’s work with light places him at the center of converging professional disciplines. Originally trained as an architect, Shrum received a Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an emphasis on lighting installations and light art history in 2008. In addition to his professional design activity as principal of Flux Studio (http://www.fluxstudio.net), and his responsibilities as US Coordinator of the Professional Lighting Designers' Association, Shrum has been a member of the faculty Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland since 2001.


Safelight, 2008 Light, electrical cords, cyanotype on canvas Installation 11’ x 9’ x 9’				Voltage Drop, 2008 Light, electrical cords Installation 11’ x 2’x 25’