T. Kelly Mason, Laumeier Lamps, 2011

Currently undergoing final installation

concrete base, electrical wiring, steel light pole, LED gobo
projector, stainless steel gobos, Dichroic color filters, aluminium
pipe, poly-metal, 3M VHB tape, rivets, urethane, paint
dimensions variable

Like Dr. Jekyll, T. Kelly Mason’s Laumeier Lamps has a secret
nocturnal Mr. Hyde alter ego. By day, the buoyant letter blocks
spelling UPSIDE happily sit atop six poles. Mason’s letters
transform the humble street lamp into cheerful sculpture. Then,
just before night falls, an electronic LED display eclipses the
normal sunny ambiance for any lingering late night visitors.
COYOTE, SHAKEN, TOTEMS, SPOOKY and other words project
dramatically across the jetblack asphalt as the lot is illuminated
with sinister poetics. Mason’s light show creates a lively picture
as if the forest stirs to uproot, and the sculptures awaken to split
free from their foundation.
 
The Park becomes a twilight reverie when observed dusk ‘til
dawn. Mason’s text ties together this sensibility: “SPACES: things
unlike nature make nature more visible,” thus highlighting how
the artificial can be as active as the natural habitat. Other barbed
phrases such as “the things in the Park are trying to think”
suggest a form of metaphysical animism unleashed by this after-
hours experience. Laumeier Lamps lives a double life, the seen
and unseen, strict control and wild abandon, the bright glow
of the public and the dark shadow of the private.
 

Laumeier Sculpture Park Commission with funds from Ameren Corporation

Location: Museum Circle