Solid Light Films and Other Works (1971 – 2014) is the first solo exhibition for British artist Anthony McCall in the Netherlands and will hit EYE Amsterdam from September 28th until November 30th. Since the 70s, McCall has developed a remarkable amount of work, comprised of drawings, performances, and – the essential part of this exhibition  – large installations that he calls ‘solid light films’. These sculptural light projections are equally minimalist in form, magic in effect, theoretic in essence, and physical in experience. The moving light sculptures constantly change form and cannot be categorized in the usual domains of art, such as ‘sculpture’ or ‘film’.

His work is a consistent refusal to conform to art historical categories and constantly circumvents cinematic conventions and expectations.

His first solid light film, Line Describing a Cone (1973) is made from a beam of white light emitted from a film projector positioned at one end of a darkened room. Passing through the projector is an animated film of a thin, arcing line that, frame by frame, gradually joins up to become a complete circle. Over the course of thirty minutes this line of light traces the circumference of the circle as a projection on the far wall while the beam takes the form of a three-dimensional hollow cone. Mist from smoke machines gives the beam of light a greater density, making it appear almost tangible.

McCall wants to investigate the foundation of cinema while expressing criticism on the film industry. He radically inverts the basic principle of the film industry by taking away the audience’s attention from the projected image and redirecting it at the light source itself. By presenting his works in a museum, McCall challenges the visitor to interact with the moving light sculptures.The result is a ‘soft’ atmosphere in which the audience and the work are brought in a close relation.

At the end of the 70s, McCall slowly distanced himself from his film installations and started working as a graphic designer. In 2001, the New York Whitney Museum asked him to present Line Describing a Cone during the ground-breaking Into The Light exhibition. Improved technical circumstances allowed the work to be installed with easy-to-handle projectors. Digital design software allowed McCall also to rethink and expand his work from the 70s. Doubling Back (2003) is McCall’s first digital solid light film and exists of two projected wave forms which slowly run into each other.

This exhibition shows the step-by-step development of the solid light films, from his earliest works to his later digital work, with Face to Face (2013) as McCall’s first work with double projection. You’ll also discover Travelling Wave, a unique work in his oeuvre because it only consists of sound.