Erika Blumenfeld (Marfa, TX), Still from Moving Light: Spring 2005, Projected Installation, 1:35, looped, silent, DVD, Dimensions variable, Edition of 8, Courtesy of artist
Artist Statement
In Moving Light: Spring 2005, I documented the 93 days between the vernal equinox (March 20, 2005) and the summer solstice (June 21, 2005)—the time in our year that comprises the season known as spring in the northern hemisphere. At the exact moment of civil sunset on March 20th, I recorded onto photosensitive material solely the amount of natural sunlight radiating toward Earth. Using a hand built light-recording device and 4x5 transparency film, I repeated this “light recording” process for the subsequent 92 days, exposing sunlight onto separate sheets of film each day at the same time.
The 93 resulting still images were then sequenced and animated to video so that light's varying intensity would be visible through motion. The increase of light seen in Moving Light: Spring 2005 catalogues the direct consequence of the relationship between the Sun and the Earth, and their orbital movement that cause our seasons. As time moves from the vernal equinox toward the summer solstice, the sun approaches its northern most point in the sky, resulting in longer days and a sun that remains bright later into the evening.
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