‘Bridge of Signs’: Beyond the Screen? InLight, 2013, Medeology Collective
Science tells us that light is merely electromagnetic radiation of a certain wavelength. Art tells us more: Light is a celebration, a mental lift, a metaphor, and the medium for a unique artistic event, InLight Richmond.
Since 2008, InLight has illuminated one area of the city as natural light fades toward the winter solstice. For the seventh InLight on Nov. 21 at dusk, Monroe Park will light up with projections, performances, sculpture, and interactive projects in a free one-night celebratory event.
InLight is both an exhibition and a community program, explains Emily Smith, executive director of 1708 Gallery, which organizes the event. First created to note the 30th anniversary of the gallery, it was designed with the public in mind. “There was a shared desire for it not to be a fancy gala but something to give back to the community,” says Smith, who served on the first planning committee in 2008 prior to taking her current job at 1708 Gallery.
The idea was borrowed from Nuit Blanche in Paris, a free dusk-to-dawn art show that continues to use light as a medium in many of its exhibits. The first InLight coincided with Richmond’s First Friday in the Broad Street neighborhood of 1708 Gallery. “The first year was such a success that we decided to continue it,” notes Smith, but its venue has since changed yearly. InLight has highlighted Shockoe Slip, the riverside near Tredegar, and the Canal Walk, among other spots.
Juried exhibit
The exhibit component of InLight is juried, with calls for proposals casting a wide net. Some artists have “juried in” several times. The Medeology Collective, with faculty members from the Savannah College of Art and Design as its core group, for example, will be presenting its fourth project at the Monroe Park event. The three core members – Kelley McClung, James Gladman, and Alessandro Imperato – do similar projects in the United States and abroad, so InLight is a good fit with their work.
‘Bridge of Signs’: Beyond the Screen? – Inlight, 2013 – Medeology Collective
‘Bridge of Signs’: Beyond the Screen? – Inlight, 2013 – Medeology Collective
“InLight is a special public art event and we are delighted that we have been able to perform so many times in Richmond with the 1708 Gallery,” they write. “Often our work goes through many forms in one night even though there is a core concept and aesthetic structure. Our improvisational methods lead to a dialogue between ourselves and the audience as the performance progresses. It often surprises us at times.”
There are surprises, too, in the artists chosen for the event. “We encourage folks who would not normally identify as artists,” says Smith, naming teams from schools of engineering as an example. “It’s a very democratic process.”
To ensure that democracy, the show’s juror is from outside the Richmond art community. Juror for 2014 is Denise Markonish, curator at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts. Smith explains that in addition to reviewing the proposals, the juror visits the site chosen for the year. “We encourage work that is site-responsive,” she says. In its call for artists, the gallery includes documentation about where the exhibit will take place, including a history. Monroe Park, with its rich connections to Civil War history, public entertainment, and political controversy, offers plenty of inspiration for the 2014 artists.
Julie Hinzmann and Shawn Saharko, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, InLight 2013
Light, time, logistics
The use of light as a medium is expected, but “more important than working in light is working in a constrained time,” Smith continues. “The artists have to be able to install their work in one day.” And because the exhibit duration is just one night, it is as ephemeral as – well, light.
Logistics are complicated and essential, requiring projectors, power sources, and technical expertise. This comes from Boitnott Visual Communications of Midlothian, which visits the site to help identify needs, positions, and equipment needed. The company also helps with an electrical plan for the exhibit. “It’s amazing what they can do, and the advice is pro bono,” Smith says, although Boitnott is paid for its equipment rental and installation. “It makes the logistics more streamlined.”
Members of the Medeology Collective compare participation in InLight to “joining the circus. It gets you moving, excited, worried, terrified at times, exhilarated – but it also bonds the group of us as we tackle another seemingly impossible idea.”
Community involvement
Beyond the magic of the juried exhibit, InLight is also a community event that has been embraced by art lovers. This is especially true of the lantern parade that opens the show. Anyone with a lantern of their own making is welcome to join the parade, which has been so popular that 1708 Gallery now does lantern workshops in various places starting early in the year. Those who want to join in at the last minute can also make lanterns at the event prior to the parade.
“It’s a lovely way to start the night, very grassroots,” says Smith. “Families and kids really love it, and it’s a way to collaborate with a lot of organizations and people in town. It’s really one of the greatest parts of InLight. It inaugurates the event.”
The community can also get involved by voting on the People’s Choice Award. Each installation is assigned a code that visitors send in a text message. The winner is announced the next morning.
InLight Richmond will take place in Monroe Park on Nov. 21 beginning at 7 p.m. Lantern-making begins at 6:30 p.m., and the lantern parade will take place at 7:30. For more information, visit 1708gallery.org.
Click here to see this article in the November/December issue of River City magazine.