2010
Ten customized scanner light fixtures, Max MSP program
I customized ten fixtures used in nightclub or stage lighting to play the lyrics to a 1981 song by the Christian rock band Petra. The words of the song play in order, moving across the walls, floor and ceiling of the gallery space.
In the lyrics the singer addresses himself to Satan, the “angel of light,” telling him he will not be taken in by the temptations of the city—the flashing lights, drugs or sex, in fact everything except rock and roll, which is the very vehicle of the song. In other words, Petra is using a popular medium to disavow the very lifestyle that this medium embodies. The work is an allegory of subversion from the inside, of the attempt by contemporary art to critique the culture within which it is contained.
Angel of Light” (Excerpt)
Lyrics by Bob Hartman
City lights are flashing, they call you to the streets
Hearts are filled with passion in everyone you meet
The boulevard is waiting, it wants to get you high
Neon signs are waiting to sell you anything you want to buy
But I know your devices,
it shouldn’t seem so odd
You lied from the beginning,
I see through your facade
Angel of light,
I see you glow in the night
But you only bring darkness to my soul
Angel of light,
You’re telling me wrong is right
I won’t let your evil take control
They follow in your footsteps not knowing that you fell
Bumper to bumper on the freeway to hell
You lead them into wrong and you make it look so right
You lead them into darkness
And make them think you lead them into light
But I know where you’re going,
Too bad you’re not alone
If it wasn’t for the real light
I might have never known