Cathy Cunningham-Little
My work explores visual sensation and color interactions with light. I seek to create an altered perception of what is being seen. These investigations have at least partially evolved from my father’s descriptions of eidetic hallucinations from his visual memory after losing his vision in 1994. The pieces are meditative and potentially extend the limits of visual thought and experience.
Light in itself is intangible and must be transmitted through a medium to be perceived. Using neon as the light source, I blur the edges of color to create a central haze of form/color/energy resulting in an illusory variance in luminance and size. The exhibited pieces are built up in layers, and when the work is approached, the viewer might attempt to focus, but due to the refractions created, this is not possible. When one approaches some pieces, the center becomes larger and lighter, and while stepping back, the center becomes darker and smaller. This illusion creates a visual "breath." After a few minutes of viewing, these pieces are transformed through our own perceptual physics, encouraging awareness of the state of our consciousness and the shape of our perception.
The primary media I use as an artist are neon, glass, light, and mixed media. My earlier works concentrated on sculptural installations that were representational and narrative. My recent work is abstract and deals with perception and the viewer’s involvement or integration with the work of art. I endeavor to engage the spectator with the work to reveal the unknown, but very real, sides to vision. My objective with these color/light pieces is to generate chromatic optical reactions in the viewer that would not be perceivable in "normal" conditions. By blurring the edges of color, a central haze of form/color/energy is created, resulting in an illusory variance in luminance and size. I also attempt to make the "color in space" stronger, transforming it into matter. This matter goes beyond the support of a physical object. In my work, color is constantly in the making and is taking place in time. My intent is to separate color and object from form. This creates an environment that goes beyond the boundaries of normal vision and ultimately expands the scope of human experience.