New Viewings #9
Curated by Barbara Thumm
“History is ongoing.” So says artist Sam Durant of his New Viewings installation features lightbox signs hand painted, brightly colorful, presented against the stark white walls of the space. In a utopian world, the public finds its voice in public spaces. Each glowing plane is an appropriation of personal and passionate messages from demonstrations and rallies. These are the apex of a public collective voice, broken down into singularity to transcend and reverberate beyond space and time.
Sam Durant
Sam Durant,* in 1961 Seattle, Washington,
lives and works in Los Angeles
These lightbox signs are part of a long running series of electric signs that Durant has been making since 2001.
Typically Durant transforms hand written slogans from protests and demonstrations onto the large format commercial signs. The early signs were produced by master commercial sign maker David Burgess in Los Angeles, Durant now employs local companies to fabricate the works in the places where they are exhibited.
