I am an artist that has been categorized as a glass and light artist, but I see myself more as a sculptor using glass, light, shadow, reflections, and color interactions, along with sound elements, to explore perceptual phenomena. My current works were born from my father’s loss of vision and his subsequent vivid descriptions from his eidetic visual memory based on his personal history. He could “see” things that were no longer objectively present and describe an image or event in his head as if it was still present in physical space and time. Because his eidetic images were externally projected, he saw them as “out there”, not in his head, and could inspect them for new detail in the manner of a physically present object. My works are an attempt to capture a reality much like my father’s experience with reality. I endeavor to engage the spectator with my work to reveal the unknown, but very real, sides to vision: to generate optical reactions in the viewer that would not be perceivable in “normal” conditions, yet are phenonomenologically distinct in vividness and detail.

My exploration of ideas revolving around perception, utilize color and light to provide sensory information. These ideas are dependant on complex functions of the nervous system, but appear to be effortless because the processing of this information happens outside conscious awareness. I use ambiguous illusory forms that demonstrate the brain’s perceptual systems’ active and pre-conscious attempt to make sense of the input. Multiple interpretations on the perceptual level are experienced through quantification of the relationship between the intensity of physical stimuli and their perceptual effects and predictive coding which indicates that there is much feedback between perception and expectation. Perceptual experience can shape our beliefs of what we are seeing, but these perceptions are usually based on our existing belief.

When using tangible materials, emphasis is placed on color combinations in space and the structural properties of light. I am now introducing colored shadows and colored reflections as a means to dematerialize the method of conveyance of light and color. I am using these properties to draw and paint with light.

“Buzzz” and “Metamorphosis” (both 2012) are part of my current body of work. It is a continuation of these ideas with further emphasis on the dematerialization of the methods of conveyance of light and color. I am reducing the actual materials used and utilizing colored shadows and reflections to create my artwork. I manipulate only 4 colors of treated glass, creating dense yet ethereal multi- colored works that are seen, but actually have very little physical means. As part of this new work, I am asking the viewer to become an active participant in a dialogue with the artwork as they experience the dissolution of boundaries between substance and space. The perceptual ambiguities cause the viewer to question the nature of perception, as well as, consider the expansion of their state of consciousness.

“Six Degrees of Separation” (2010) is a metaphorical piece where I am using light and reflections again. But in this case, they are binding factors to show the interconnected web of individuals who create a greater whole (the population of the planet). It is a metaphor for a theory, which makes a point of showing in mathematical method that every person is connected to each other by only six degrees of separation. The social networking sites are a perfect example of this theory. As you stand under the piece you can see your reflection within a reflection within another reflection and so on. Others standing nearby are also seen in the same way and the ”Six Degrees” becomes visible.

Cathy Cunningham Little Resume.pdf