Ward's Illuminating Vision Burns Bright

David Ward: Keepers of Light

at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum

through March 6

If you want to ponder the wonders of the universe while simultaneously experiencing the processes of art, you should visit David Ward's exhibition, "Keepers of Light" at the Sackler Museum. The show examines the foundations of light, and more importantly, human involvement as an integral agent in the creation and perception of this phenomenon. Ward suggests that light is a mystical, or even spiritual, entity that evokes the haunting beauty of life.

In the first work of the exhibition, a black and white photograph titled Illuminated Man (1986), Ward emphasizes the brilliance of light. A casually dressed man is adorned in a network of glowing lights, like a tree during the winter holidays. The background is pure black; the contrast in light and dark adds more whiteness and purity to the light, and thus more radiance. Yet it is difficult to overlook the man who carries this light. He stands in a relaxed position, head bent downward as if contemplating his costume of lights. His head directs attention towards the ground where the wires become one, flowing into a socket and then in to the corner of the photograph. The man in the picture is an instrument in the circuit; he provides the framework and carries the wires to light the tiny bulbs. While simultaneously, the light creates him; he would not be visible without the illumination.

Ward further explores the relationship between light and man in the next work, The Rev. Robert walker, Skating (1993). However, this time, he expands the scope of the work to involve the viewer--the physical, real human--rather than simply providing a static image of human interaction seen in the first work. The image is projected on a white wall at the entrance to the gallery. By opening the doors and letting in light, we momentarily disrupt the picture. Ivan Gaskell best describes the scenario in the exhibition's catalogue, "[W]e are playing our part as performers as well as viewers, admitting beams, unfocused analogues of the long-leveled rule of streaming light that forms the image. By entering we cause the very stuff of vision to come through the pinhole of the huge black box that is the gallery-as-camera." Ward's skating figure is a reverse image like a film negative.

The viewer's entrance into the gallery hypothetically provides the necessary light to convert this negative image into a "real" image- ("real" meaning a work of realism and representation). Ward challenges the viewer's perception and vision through this work by providing an alternative, yet similar view of the world. The Rev. Robert walker skates on black ice on a dark day. His attire is pure white, not the traditional dark suit of a reverend. And his face is as dark as the background, distinguishable because of the small traces of white that outline the contour of his profile. We are able to identify the image, but fulfill it when we provide our own light.

In Keepers of light, No. 7 (1987-93), Ward takes a bold step, in the tradition of the minimalists, by expanding the canvas, or more precisely, the field of vision which encompasses the relationship between the viewer and the surrounding space. Black dots on white paper span the gallery. It is not by accident that these dots are not all shaped the same way: some have softer edges, others are smaller and tighter. The differences in circles create an ambiguity of depth. Are these black dots beams of light penetrating a white "void" or are they hovering objects in space? The symmetric placement of the dots suggest that the black is piercing the white surface. The viewer stands in front of a new universe created by Ward's experimentation with light. It is necessary to walk the length of the wall to experience the magnitude and overwhelming feeling of the work, then to stand back and become absorbed in the beautiful eeriness of Ward's vision.

According to Gaskell, Ward investigates death in the work Lid (1993). However, the projection is really about creation and birth. The hazy image, diffused through an acidetched glass, conjures ideas of our moment of birth, and the first moments of experiencing light. Light is burgeoning, not dimming. This work follows Blanks (1990-1), three glass disks of translucent pearl blue. The reflective nature of the work encloses the image of the viewer's body in an ethereal womb. So the transition from Blanks to Lid represents the moment of birth thrusting the viewer into a new world of light. The final work, Imagination Dead Imagine (1991) does not belong in the show because it does not create the excitement of renewal and epiphany that the pieces do. At the end of the exhibition viewer returns to Keepers of Light. The circularity of the gallery space requires reconsideration of this piece; if missed the first time around, the implication become more obvious.

"Keepers of Light" is an intelligent show, and requires not only the participation of the viewer, but the imagination and patience to see. Ward challenges our views and vision, bringing up issues of perception and creation. "Keepers of Light" is an exhibition of birth, discovery, and vision. Some may not like the theatricality of the show, but my suggestion is to be patient and visit the show a few times before it closes on March 6. Eventually, the light will shine through.