Works by Jane Aaron, Michael Brown, Mark Esper, Kit Kube, and Michael Walsh
July 18 - October 5, 2008

Artist Bob Miller

influential artists, who died in 2007. Featured artists Jane Aaron, Michael Brown, Marke Esper, Kit Kube, and Michael Walsh use light as their main tool for exploration. Echoing Miller’s attitude towards the wonders of light, they are artists who range from those who revel in the gossamer qualities of light to those who play with phenomena such as persistence of vision, whether through sculpture or moving images. The works include Traveling Light by Jane Aaron, a video loop that captures changing light in a day; Ghost Horse by Michael Brown, a visual experiment combing a series of images created by Eadweard Muybridge; Enlightenment, by Mark Esper, an interactive installation that manipulates light, creating inverse shadows; Circadian Snare by Kit Kube, a sculpture of projected light and pattern; and Lightwalk by Michael Walsh, a looping video that captures the essence of one of Bob Miller’s signature Light Walks. This exhibition is co-curated by Liz Keim and Pamela Winfrey.

They were all influenced by or are kindred spirits of light artist Bob Miller, creator of the Sun Painting, Everyone is You and Me, and many other long-time favorite Exploratorium artwork/exhibits. To honor Miller’s enduring impact on the Exploratorium, a fund in his name has been established to support a variety of projects consistent with his philosophy and passions – maintenance of his iconic exhibits, the creation of new exhibits and the establishment of a fellowship fund to support artists in residence. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please call the Development Department at 415-561-0385.
Among the works on exhibit are:

Traveling Light, by Jane Aaron
Looping Video (3 minutes, digital transfer from 16mm film)
Traveling Light is a seemingly simple study of the movement of light with its subtle variations of color as it moves through a home over the course of one day. The detail comes from a studied observation of the way in which light seems to take on a visceral physicality at times. The complexity of its construction is whimsically revealed in the final moments of the film.

Ghost Horse, by Michael Brown
A visual experiment combing a series of images created by Eadweard Muybridge
The source of these images are photographs created by Eadweard Muybridge in the late 1800’s. Leland Stanford wanted to prove that when a horse is trotting, all four hooves are “simultaneously free from contact with the ground.” Since motion picture technology didn’t exist at the time, Muybridge created these images by placing a series of cameras along the path of the running horse. Delicate threads connected to each camera crossed the path of the horse, and were broken by the horse, triggering the cameras in sequence. Intrigued and inspired by Muybridge’s technology (or lack thereof), Brown explores techniques using his imagery to recreate the horses’ movement without movement.

Enlightenment, by Mark Esper
Enlightenment is an interactive installation that manipulates light, creating inverse shadows. It explores several aspects of perception and self-perception. The actual term, “enlightenment,” comes from the humanistic and scientific movement that began in the eighteenth century. Also, in this work the idea of personal enlightenment is made physical, a means of contemplation.

Circadian Snare, by Kit Kube
For the artist, this work is a commentary on life. Kube probes metaphysical rather than ethical issues in this sculpture of projected light and pattern as he contemplates the soul’s willingness to be, in his words, “snared to take form.” Subjected to an array of physical laws, it deals with the attraction of life as well as the limitations of physical time and space.

Lightwalk, by Michael Walsh
Looping Video (1999, 5 minutes, digital transfer from 16mm film)
An experimental cinematic ode to artist Bob Miller made with high-contrast black-and-white film. Shot one summer afternoon at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and in the Marin Headlands, this fragmented story captures fleeting moments from one of Miller’s signature Light Walks, reflecting a new way of seeing light in the landscape. Using in-camera effects, this film attempts to capture everyday images and light we might overlook. Sound by 20 Miles.