Monday, December 13, 2010

Photos




These photos were taken by Ron Kochanowski on 12-11-10. In the foreground is Nancy Milliken's Pleiades installation of 7 felted wool sails cruising like ghost ships in the glow of Shedding Light. It was a special event to see them together in the field. Thank you Ron for sharing your work!

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

Some people complain that the camera's lens doesn't do them justice - they think they look awkward or pale in the light of the flash bulb, but Shedding Light has no complaints. This project comes alive in the pictures. The textures + details of the barn + field; the light patterns in the sky + on the ground are seen in photographs in a different way than we can experience them in person, in motion. It's as though the camera allows us the opportunity to pause in that moment forever + to look closely without distractions.

Ron Kochanowski, a photographer from Feeding Hills, visited on Saturday night + took a few beautiful images with his Nikon D60 that you can see on his Flickr site. I especially love the ones that show Nancy Milliken's Pleiades illuminated by Shedding Light. So nice to share the Swartz's field with these sails for a few nights!

And if you have the opportunity to stop by the Nacul Gallery to see the exhibit of photos from last year's lighting you'll see Shedding Light through the eyes of Don David, Anita Licis-Ribak, Stephanie Oates + Charlotte Meryman. The photos will be up through Dec. 30.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Thank you

So last night was a great + overwhelming experience -- so many came out to see Nancy Milliken's Pleiades + my Shedding Light installation + to hang out in the Swartz's barn! The conversations I had (+ a few I overheard) were all pretty amazing.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to a successful night (especially the parking team)! + thank you to those of you who were out there taking photos. I'd love to see your images so if you'd like to share, you can get in touch with me at sheddinglightamherst@gmail.com.

The shed will be lit for the next 2 nights... considering extending it if some snow materializes... more on that soon.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Shedding Light

Looking forward to a chilly Saturday night (hoping for snow!) for the Nacul Gallery opening & relighting at Swartz Farm. If it's not too windy Nancy Milliken's Pleiades will be doing some night sailing which should be something beautiful.

See yesterday's post for times + locations.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

See you on 12-11-10!

S H E D D I N G L I G H T revisited

Public art installation by erika zekos
@ Swartz Family Farm, December 11 - 13, 2010

Exhibition of photographs of the illuminated shed
@ Nacul Center Gallery, December 11 - 30, 2010
featuring artists: donald david, anita licis-ribak, charlotte meryman, stephanie oates, erika zekos + video documentary by catherine stryker

Opening Night: Saturday December 11, 2010
@ Nacul Center Gallery (592 Main St., Amherst)
3 - 5 PM Opening Reception

@ Swartz Family Farm
(11 Meadow St. + additional viewing area on Rt. 116, just north of the Meadow St. traffic light)
5:30 - 8 PM Holiday Festival at the farm featuring hay rides, hot cider + local noshes
6 - 10 PM The lights come on!

Presented by the Amherst Public Arts Commission

2 days to go

In preparation for the opening on Saturday, today we installed the photo show at the Nacul Gallery. Here's Terry Rooney curator-extraordinaire hanging one of Anita Licis-Ribak's photographs.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

3 days to go

Yesterday i spent some time at the shed, laying out cables + opening the barn's ventilation panels. It's cold outside, but it feels good to be getting things ready for the relighting on Saturday. Joe + Sarah Swartz are planning such a wonderful celebration of local food + art in their Blue Barn + it might even snow a little bit on Friday (fingers crossed).

Here are a couple of photos i took yesterday - images of this aging barn being either overtaken or gradually erased by decades of exposure to its environment. Beautiful in their own way, but bittersweet.