Press Release

August 29, 2013

Contact: Jacqui Corsi, Director of Marketing, at jacqui@thelmaarts.org

The Guggenheim Meets THELMA

When Hap Tivey’s piece “Sodium Exchange” was first exhibited in Miami, an incredible phenomenon occurred, Tivey said. People entered the room and divide into two groups – exhibitionists and voyeurs.

“I don’t know what will happen in Fond du Lac, but I’m excited to find out,” hesaid.

Tivey, a pioneer in the light and space movement, is re-creating “Sodium Exchange” for THELMA. The original piece is part of the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Tivey’s work is also part of collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Picasso Studio in Paris.

“I’m thrilled that we are getting to do it again,” Tivey said. ”I’m hoping it’s even more colorful.”

While he will have other works in his exhibit at THELMA, Tivey believes art should be an experience and will create that for the Fond du Lac region with “Sodium Exchange THELMA.” One side of the piece projects a stream of light which casts a shadow on anyone who comes between the projector and the screen.

“People in the room are essentially creating a two-dimension narrative of what they are doing,” Tivey said. “They can’t see those shadows because they show on the other side.”

The other side of the piece is lit with sodium light. Upon entering the room, the room looks fairly yellow. But eyes adapt to the brightness and color, and the room becomes increasingly white, Tivey said. The two-way rear projection screen becomes blue and the shadows that are cast look like cardboard shadows.

Marian University Adjunct Professor Shane McAdams said Tivey’s work is rooted in a tradition that deals with light, atmosphere and how one psychologically interacts with the space around them. This type of work is in the middle of a renaissance as five James Turrell exhibitions mounted this year alone, McAdams said. Turrell is another notable artist who works with light.

“Its rebirth coincides with the art world's interest for relational and interactive art that challenges the old modernist notion of the inert, private wall or pedestal object,” McAdams said. “Sodium Exchange, as participants will soon realize, is a playful yet cerebral example of interactive sculpture that will make them think twice about how they think about a "piece" of art.”

Tivey is influenced by science and how human beings function and exist in the world. He studied math and science as an undergraduate student and was a Zen Monk, living in Japan for a period of his life, until he returned to New York in 1975.

He began making art, based in light, in 1969, and has never stopped. Tivey has a studio based in Brooklyn and a larger studio in upstate New York and has also been teaching for more than 30 years.

In a free event, Tivey will speak about his work, the history of light in art and how those two elements intersect at 6 pm, Wednesday, September 11 at THELMA. He will begin the lecture taking the group through his exhibit at THELMA and end the evening with questions from the audience.

“I place heavy value on presenting someone with an unusual experience which they could not otherwise have,” Tivey said. “If it catches on, there will be a split between the people who want to act and dance, and people who want to watch.”

For more about Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts and all the happenings, click thelmaarts.org.