In the beginning, God created the station wagon, and suburban rooftops were without form, black as the hot chocolate in little James Yates’ mug as his parents drove him through their neighborhood. One neighbor plugged in a cord, another flipped a switch, and rows of incandescent bulbs divided themselves from darkness. And, years later, Yates thought, “Let There Be Light.”
|
Different as night and day: James Yates unveils a few bright ideas and his newest piece, “The Art of Unknowing,” at the third annual “Let There Be Light” exhibit. The event takes place at the grounds of PVCC’s V. Earl Dickinson Building on Friday, December 11. |
And it was good—rare, but well-attended. When Yates and his wife, Piedmont Virginia Community College art chair Beryl Solla, started “Let There Be Light” in 2007, the event attracted more than 500 people to the grounds of PVCC’s V. Earl Dickinson Building. Last year, it was 600-plus—slurping free soup and hot chocolate, bumping into others in the dark and illuminating their faces with flashlights. More of the same is planned and expected for this year’s show, on Friday, December 11, from 6-9pm.
And there’s the light itself. “Let There Be Light” is a one-night-only exhibit, as brief and assertive as a bottle rocket. Yates invites a group of local artists to contribute a piece of art that can be effectively displayed outdoors and in the dark—all with the hope, he says, of “recreating that enchantment” he felt when he saw Christmas lights for the first time.
The contributing artists seem enchanted by the challenge; for many, “Let There Be Light” is a chance to work in a different medium. Stacey Evans and John Grant might be best known for their photography. Last year, however, they constructed a fleet of floating pyramids that cast their light from the middle of a lake. Rob Tarbell injects stuffed animals with porcelain and paints with smoke; for the first “Let There Be Light,” he attached illuminated structures to fishing lines and let spectators cast them about.
Yates also contributes. This time of year, he says, “is a big transitional time”—why not invite crowds to engage that transition? For last year’s “If Not Now, Then When?” he ordered 75 pounds of white iridescent flakes of varying shapes. People threw handfuls of the stuff into a small area; the word “NOW” appeared in enormous, glittering letters, again and again.
“I’m very much into participation,” he says about his work. “Anything to get people into the middle of the damned thing.”
This year’s lights are nearly ready to be turned on. Russell Richards, drawer of rampaging and copulating monsters, has a film in the works; Ted Coffey, an electronics whiz in UVA’s music department, is creating a piece with his class involving, according to Yates, 20 laptops. Newcomer Jarn Heil created effects for bizarre-o terror flicks like Critters 2 and Killer Klowns from Outer Space; with his daughter, Chelsea, he is building a floating, glowing jellyfish.
As for Yates, he’s in the thick of mastering fog, learning how to project a series of statements onto clouds—inspired by a mystical text called The Cloud of Unknowing as well as The Wizard of Oz, he says. Much like “Let There Be Light” itself, Yates’ project is an intentional move towards some undefined darkness, all for the thrill and revelation of suddenly throwing on a light. Be there when he flicks the “ON” switch.
Lights out for First Night?
Last week, First Night Virginia released its full schedule of events and venues for its 28th annual New Year’s Eve festival. The event’s website, however, suggested this might be the last local First Night, if ticket sales and sponsorships don’t improve.
“It’s hard to imagine New Year’s Eve in Charlottesville without First Night,” wrote executive director Barbara Lundgren, “but that reality is indeed possible.”
It’s a tough hand dealt to young kids—not to mention their parents—who may not have much in the way of family-friendly New Year’s options outside of a cartoon marathon and sparkling Welch’s. But what about the rest of us? Feedback recently posted some thoughts on his blog about how to keep this year’s First Night from being our final countdown. Share your own below.
