Communiqué Series: Marquee Messages to Spartanburg
These reverse glass paintings were created between 2007-2008 during a year-long artist-in-residence program at Hub-Bub in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The paintings are installed in lightboxes, and the marquees and other light sources light up when turned on.
My relocation from New York City to Spartanburg, and my feeling that I may never return to New York, led me to question the definition of home in fundamental ways and contributed to an overwhelming feeling of homelessness and displacement. The reverse glass paintings are influenced by these feelings; they attempt to assess and define the qualities of home.
Marquees became a cornerstone amongst the things that were becoming familiar, the things that fascinated and attracted me, in the Spartanburg landscape. I became interested in the ways that they are used, especially by the faith community, as a legitimate means of communication. During my time in Spartanburg, it had become clear to me that there are regional differences in communication style and I was often frustrated by an inability to effectively communicate with the community in a meaningful way. This series combines my delight in Spartanburg’s marquee landscapes, the underlying feelings of anxiety and melancholy that accompany my search for home, and the need to relate these feelings using a local communication tool.
For more information on reverse glass painting, look here.
