Holes of Light

Nancy Holt
1973
LoGiudice Gallery, New York
650 watt quartz lights, polyurethane board, graphite

Holes of Light ​consists of a room bisected by a wall, which is perforated with eight circular holes arranged along a diagonal. Two lights are located on either side of the wall, and an alternating current switches between them so that one side of the room is dark and the other light. The projections of light are outlined on the walls so that the shapes are alluded to, even when they cannot be seen. The work generates a dynamic experience of the relationships between viewer and art object, practical and perceived, sensory and conceptual.

Writing

Published writing by Nancy Holt

Holes of Light

Nancy Holt

1. Concrete vs. Ephemeral

Light, like sight, can be channeled, controlled so that shapes of light can materialize. In Holes of Light these shapes of contained light were outlined on the wall in pencil giving them even more of a physical presence, so that even when the light or sight is absent, a trace remains.

2. Light as the Concretization of Sight

See Also