The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building.

March 7 - April 13, 2019 | HOLDING Contemporary (formerly Williamson + Knight Gallery), Portland, OR

Artist:

Dan Paz

Overview:

The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building., titled after a quote by the modernist architect Louis Khan, explores the role light plays in the oppression of historically marginalized individuals—especially people of color, low-income, and queer communities. Curated by Yaelle Amir for HOLDING Contemporary, the work of artist Dan Paz examines how light is manipulated in carceral environments to craft a controlled collective space.

about the exhibition:

With video, sculpture and performance, the exhibition demonstrates different methods of performing in, modifying, and refracting light to uncover how psychological and physical development is affected by lightness and darkness. The works in the exhibition—a high resolution experimental film, an HD video of establishing shots, and lanterns made of cement and ceramic—draw a material and visual connection between a university in Seattle and its neighbouring juvenile detention center. Both institutions are primarily entrusted with the care of young individuals who are on the cusp of adulthood, yet still very much in their formative years. They are designed as delimited collective spaces that are deliberately shaped in the spirit of the Brutalist architectural aesthetic (a style from the mid-twentieth century that is characterized by bare concrete forms), and an approach to regulating light as a mechanism to mobilize social and political power. These elements are represented throughout the works in Paz’s exhibition--from the choreographed performance on the university’s sports field and close-up shots of the austere detention facility building, to the lanterns that echo archetypal modernist Brutalist forms. By interweaving movement, light and sound, these works uncover and visualize subtle, yet effective, methods of control expertly orchestrated by agents of power.

Programming support generously provided by: Multnomah County Cultural Coalition

press:

James Knowlton, “Dan Paz: he sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building,” Art Practical, April 3, 2019