At Chinatown’s Automata, a fascinating steam-punk meets high tech vibe has long been an earmark of the exhibits displayed. With “Light in the Dark,” a single night exhibition, curator and artist Alexis Macnab may have created the ultimate combination.
“It’s a mechanical and metaphoric exploration of the camera in al its forms,” Macnab said of her jam-packed show. “The goal was to make something informative but also fictional. I really want people to learn something about how a camera works by walking in the door, and at the same time, experience the magical qualities of it.”
Eleven different artists and four live performers contributed to the show, which was presented with detailed notes about the individual pieces and subjects. “I’m really interested in museums. In the idea that you’re supposed to learn something in a designed event. I feel very strongly that we should, in gallery shows, be working in that model, creating a specific learning event,” Macnab explained.
Artist Thadeus Frazier-Reed co-curated and exhibited at Automata as well. His “Make Your Own Zoetrope” allowed guests to create a spinning animation piece from construction paper and digital images which they could keep. “I’m personally interested in combining the digital with the antique. We did that a lot in many pieces here, using a lot of technology, but allowing those attending to bring home a physical artifact that harkens back to early ideas in motion pictures.”
Frazier-Reed noted that the gallery often uses “crafts tables so people can create something they can walk away with. We want people to learn something kinesthetically.”
However the knowledge is imparted, the projected images, antique cameras, crafting of animation, and pin-hole viewing provided an illuminating look at not just the workings and origins of cameras, but that of human imagination as well.
