LPP ∇ Soooo…. Vicki DaSilva I see you recently did a light painting tour in France can you tell me more about it? What was the main purpose of your trip? Did you go specifically to light paint, as part of a vacation, were you invited by some gallery, or a little of all three?
VD ∇ The main purpose of the trip was all three! We went to Paris for 2 weeks for a combination work/family trip. We were long overdue for a visit! We have a long history with Paris!! It had been 10 years since we were last there. I met Antonio (my husband/partner/father of our girls) there. His family emigrated to Paris from Portugal when he was 9. We lived there from 1990-1993. Our younger daughter was born there, so Paris is always in my heart!
LPP ∇ Since you have history there did you have specific shots in mind that you wanted to create from places you had been before?
VD ∇ I had planned 4 specific shoots. My work is two fold, graffiti oriented and spatially oriented. The photo shoots were a combo of both.
The first shoot was at the Jardin de Tuileries at the entrance near the Place de la Concorde. The piece, ‘Antonio Antonio’ was my artistic response/homage to Richard Serra’s sculpture ‘Clara Clara’ originally installed in 1983.
My work with the 8 foot fluorescent lamp is very influenced by his ideas about sculpture. Moving the lamp with my body in the space, live, on site, is my way of connecting to his thinking about “the idea of the body passing through space, and the body’s movement not being predicated totally on image or sight or optical awareness, but on physical awareness in relation to space, place, time, movement.” Richard Serra, in an interview with Lynne Cooke and Michael Govan, in *Richard Serra: Torqued Ellipses* (New York: Dia Center for the Arts, 1997), pp. 27–28.
Having spent 10 years working for the Serra’s provided me with an incredible opportunity to learn from one of the most important artists of the 20th century. The ideas evolved as my work evolved.
When I began moving the lamp vertically with my body in 2009 it was a culmination of everything I had learned about Richard’s work. I have also taken his site-specific concerns and tried to elevate that process through the act of the work existing as it is created as opposed to creating a work for a site and installing it. My carbon footprint is also non existent as the work exists as the act and the photographic/video documentation of the act.
The second shoot was to commemorate the Tour Paris13 http://www.itinerrance.fr/ on the final night of the installation exhibition on October 31, 2013. The exhibition was extremely popular, especially as the end drew near there were tens of thousands of people trying to see the show, which of course was impossible. Lines were around the blocks! We tried to see the show, but it was impossible so we returned that night to do that shoot to capture the feeling of that last night with all the people there. I did 3 photos, ‘FOY’ which is my tag, and stands for Fountain of Youth, ‘ce moment’, which means ‘this moment’ in French, and a piece with the 8 footer, ‘TourParis13’. An incredibly special night for sure!
The third shoot was at the Place du Trocadéro facing La Tour Eiffel. I am currently enjoying the inclusion of the figure in my work as it happens spontaneously at public spaces. The random act of movement is very much in connection with dance. Navigating a popular space such as the Place du Trocadéro with so many people was a great challenge! People were generally very receptive of my interaction and intervention. I will be exhibiting the photo, ‘Eiffel Eiffel’ at Context Art Miami with Cheryl Hazan Contemporary in NYC Dec 3-8.
http://www.contextartmiami.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=10&tabindex=9&dealerid=27587&curidx=17&back=name
LPP ∇ About the evolution of your work, can you talk a little bit about that and how important it is for the work of a light painter or artist in general to evolve? How do you avoid getting stuck or uninspired?
VD ∇ I think it is very important for the artist to try as much as possible to keep the work evolving and fresh in some way while possibly connecting ideas to history, to other artists, to contemporary culture, etc. Especially for the artist to not get bored! After 33 years of light painting photography I need to keep myself challenged! I now think about my work more in terms of art than light painting. Light painting photography is the medium but technique is not the only artistic message I am trying to communicate. And I am learning and researching new media alternatives for my work for installation shows to expand the work from the traditional photo on the wall. I am interested now in working more in public spaces with crowds, for example, as I did with ‘Eiffel Eiffel’ and ‘Tour Paris13.’ And I continue to think a lot about activist art and how I can contribute to that. I see a lot of shows in NYC, I saw the Philippe Parreno show in Paris which was incredibly thought provoking!
http://palaisdetokyo.com/en/exhibition/philippe-parreno
Seeing art helps me to question and inspire my work on an ongoing basis. If it’s not possible to visit in person, seeing work online is the next best thing.
LPP ∇ Besides creating beautiful works of art did you have anything else exciting happen on your trip?
VD ∇ While in Paris I had several meetings with a gallery interested in my work. I am very excited to possibly have a solo show there in the fall of 2014. It is too early to discuss that publicly but it looks to be a great opportunity for me!
LPP ∇ A gallery in Paris interested in your work and a possible solo show, thats awesome! Seeing as you have over 30 years of experience what advice would you give to up-and-coming light painters trying to get there work into galleries or a place to have a show. What has worked for you in the past. Do the galleries find you or do you generally reach out to them?
VD ∇ It is a combination of both. I actively seek group shows to participate in, introduce myself to gallerists whenever possible, attend openings, network at art fairs, show anyone who will look at my work on my phone, network with artists online & off, enter competitions, contact publications, etc etc. The typical work of an artist is all of this. And it never ends! I also did Fountain Art Fair last year in NYC and will do it again in 2014. That was a great fair for me in terms of connections and sales
LPP ∇ I know you have some serious light painting equipment in your arsenal how did you get your light painting gear from the US to Paris? Did you travel with those 8 foot bulbs?
VD ∇ We shipped a tube of three 8 foot fluorescent lamps to Paris via FedEx as they do not
make 8 footers in Europe. The largest is 6 feet. They arrived unbroken! We shipped them to Antonio’s brother where they will stay until our next trip to Paris.
LPP ∇ You met up with another incredible light painter with while you were there right?
YES!!!! I was so excited to FINALLY meet Marko93 after talking to him and following his work online for years! 🙂 I had a great feeling we would be friends and the vibe would be cool, and it was even better than I had hoped for!
LPP ∇ Did you create any images with Marko?
VD ∇ Yes, We only had one night to shoot together so we met at the Tour Paris13 and did some spontaneous photos in his installation room there. It was great to just jam together casually! Just gaining access to see the installations inside was incredible and only possible through his connection! Artists were inside touching up their work as Google Street was coming the next day to document the entire show. As I said, the show was a HUGE success and I imagine more buildings slated for demolition will become temporary graffiti meccas as this one was! I hope to do more collab work with Marko in the future and I hope he comes to NYC to make work too!!
It was a highly productive work trip overall and also great to see family, old friends and meet new friends too, especially Marko! J’ADORE PARIS!
chanette says
likin it