In celebration of Oklahoma Contemporary’s inaugural exhibition, Bright Golden Haze, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art will present its own satellite exhibition, The Art of Light. Inspired by the exploration of light as a tool to create space, The Art of Light seeks to communicate the unique visual experiences provided by different forms of light when they are employed to achieve artistic ends. The centerpiece of this exhibition is Barbara Astman’s Present Tense (2005-6), comprised of a set of flashlights whose lenses are masked by pictures of faces. The work projects floating, smiling faces onto darkened surfaces. Additionally, the Museum will present Laser Drawing by Forrest Myers and Balthazar by Stanley Landsman. Laser Drawing (1967), the first laser artwork ever created, was originally installed in July 1967 at the nightclub Max’s Kansas City in New York. Present Tense and Laser Drawing have never been shown at the Museum. This three-gallery exhibition will be open March 19 through July 26.
Barbara Astman (American, active in Canada, b. 1950). Present Tense, 2005-06. Mixed media installation. Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Gift of the Christian Keesee Collection, 2016.058
