Golden Rays / In-Vitro, 2017
Aircraft cable, gold leaf, monofilament and hardware.
Outdoor/Indoor installation 40ft and variable.
Exhibition VISION(S), Cinque Mostre 2017
American Academy In Rome, Italy
Artist Statement
In baroque painting and sculpture, the raggi — or rays of gold pigment that radiate from the Virgin Mary in representations of The Annunciation — herald the presence of the Holy Spirit, transferring power from the heavens to an earthly human. Mary not only conceives a child through these golden beams, but is transformed to sainthood by their supernatural essence.
The rays of In-Vitro that descend from the skylight of Studio 127 and pass through its north-facing window are a terrestrial, contemporary meditation upon power that cannot be described in the form of tangible space. They call to mind electromagnetic waves of radio signals, internet and fiber-optic cables that carry information — breaking news, stock-tickers, gossip — that gives knowledge and power to the recipient. As these golden lines penetrate through the glass barrier of the studio wall, they further reference a contemporary technological analog to the virgin birth — the method of fertilization in which a child is conceived outside a human body, in glass.
Press Release from American Academy in Rome
Cinque Mostre 2017 is an annual exhibition of work by current Rome Prize Fellows. Composed of collaborative projects guest-curated by Ilaria Gianni under the collective title VISION(S), Cinque Mostre features work by Fellows in several disciplines and invited artists installed in various sites throughout the McKim, Mead & White Building. Taking its cue from the multifaceted term “Vision,” and emphasizing its physical-perceptive, political, supernatural, and mystical aspects, VISION(S) explores the strategies that artists and scholars employ to re-configure our perception of the world. This group exhibition brings together different approaches and ways of seeing, which draw their inspiration from the present, facts from the past, and forecasts of the future.