Fracturing the Burning Glass: Between Mirror and Meaning:
January 26—April 10, 2011
The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design (ICA at MECA&D) will present Fracturing the Burning Glass: Between Mirror and Meaning, an exhibition that examines perception through the manipulation of reflectivity, both metaphoric and corporeal. An opening reception will take place Thursday, January 27, 5—8 pm.
Fracturing the Burning Glass highlights the work of Gwenaël Bélanger (Montreal), Susan Leopold (New York), Daniel Rozin (New York), and Alyson Shotz (New York). The exhibition includes sculptural installation, photography, video, and mechanical and digital interactive media. Artists’ screenings and educational programming will occur throughout the run of the exhibition, including video works by Sue de Beer, Mircea Cantor and Körner Union.
From classical antiquity to cutting edge science, mirrors have enhanced our understanding of physical phenomena, inspired stories and superstitions, and provided a space in which to view our own image. Inherent properties of reflection are both mathematically precise and perceptually disorienting; the same light reflected in a mirror may guide a ship to safety or burn it to cinders. Navigating the disparity between the actual and the understood, the artists in this exhibition break the plane of the mirror, suggesting that illumination comes not always from what is reflected, but from what light slips through the cracks.
Support for Fracturing the Burning Glass: Between Mirror and Meaning is provided by Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Flatbread Company and Portland Color. This exhibition is curated by Linda L. Lambertson.