WAVE AND PARTICLE (Main Gallery): Featuring Tommy Bobo, Katie Duffy, Jenn Figg & Matthew McCormack, Karen Lemmert, Scott Pennington and Rachel Schmidt; curated by Melissa Webb.

The exact nature of visible light is a subject that has perplexed humans for hundreds of years. Some have envisioned light as wave-like, producing energy that traverses through space in a manner similar to ripples spreading across the surface of a still pond after being disturbed by a dropped rock. The opposing view holds that light is composed of a steady stream of particles, much like tiny droplets of water sprayed from the nozzle of a garden hose. During the past few centuries, consensus of opinion has wavered with one view prevailing for a period of time, only to be overturned by evidence for the other. It is now understood that light can be, at different times, both particle-like and wave-like, and that this complementary, or dual role for the behavior of light can be employed to describe known characteristics such as refraction, reflection, interference, and diffraction.

Engaging in a multitude of experiments utilizing such characteristics, the artists of WAVE AND PARTICLE harness light’s properties and behaviors through the use of LED screens, and projection, materials such as glass, plexiglass, vinyl, and steel, as well as programmed motion, and human interaction. In doing so they continue the centuries-old tradition of asking questions—of both themselves and their viewers—regarding the nature of light.

WAVE AND PARTICLE will be on view at School 33 Art Center from Friday, February 3 through Saturday, April 15, 2017.