Luminous Words
South Korean artist Airan Kang takes an illuminated approach to her art.
Her striking digitally lighted books, along with her new LED paintings, are currently on view in her second solo show at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York.
To prepare for her 2010 show, Light Reading, Kang traveled around the world to visit and photograph different bookstores and famous libraries in order to then recreate each environment as digitized versions of the original simulacra.
Lord Byron (Hyper Open Book), 2010. LED lights, resin encasement, custom electronics. 24 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 4 inches
The current show, Luminous Words, features over one hundred digital lighting books and new LED paintings and “furthers Kang’s exploration into the ontology and evolution of the book as a source of knowledge in the digital era”
With it, Kang adds another chapter to her ongoing “Digital Book Project”
Kang’s “digital lighting books are electronically luminescent sculptures cast from transparent synthetic resin. By introducing light from within the sculpture, Kang removes the association with the object as an actual book, asking the viewer to contemplate the subject matter conveyed by the book’s title.”
Modern Art, 2012. Arcylic on canvas, LEDs 45 5/8 x 1 1/2
Postmodernism. 2013. LED lights, resin encasement, custom electronics.10 5/8 x 7 1/2 x 3 inches
View of Kang’s 2010 installation, Light Reading, at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
Here’s a short video of part of the Light Reading installation. As amazing as the images above are it is even cooler to watch them shimmer.
Airan Kang, Light Reading, 2010 at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery