PRISMSCurated by Cassie Riger and Mak KernOpening reception: Saturday, January 27, 2018, 5 - 8 pmPerformances: Saturday, March 17, 2018, 5 - 8 pmExhibition closes: Friday, March 23, 2018Showing works byDevin KennyMak KernCassie RigerHiromi TakizawaIsabel TheseliusWith performances byRebecca BrunoKrysten CunninghamAnd a catalog essay byJennifer Frias-more-When we think of light we think….Pink Floyd cover art. White privilege. Crystals. Blue light eye blockers and amber lightfrom dusk till dawn. Spiritual awakening. Mass media. Projectors. Phenomenology.Cinema. Space travel. Transparency. Remembrance. Reflection. Context. Desire.Mood. Magic.PRISMS holds the proverbial Pink Floyd crystal up to the stream of light-based workflowing out of Southern California today. Like a prism, we aim to clarify, to show aspectrum, to make delightful rainbows dance across the walls.This show by artist curators Cassie Riger and Mak Kern presents work by five SouthernCalifornia artists working with light. The project arose out of a discussion during a roadtrip to Antelope Valley to see poppies, where we discussed our motivations andchallenges as artists who work with light, “Why is it so hard to get people to dim thelights in the gallery? How does the viewer complete or activate the work? Is light-basedart the same as or different from cinema? Is it spiritual? Is it functional? How is theexperience of a dark gallery fundamentally different than a white cube? What are theaesthetic parameters? Why is it important? Why are so many artists working this wayright now?”The exhibiting artists take a viewer-centric approach to their inquiries about thephilosophical and embodied aspects of working with light. Devin Kenny’s 3-D lightpiece references the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tellComputers and Humans Apart) image recognition process. In Mak Kern’s hangingglass pieces, light is a means to invoke and awaken mindfulness. While in CassieRiger’s orange inflected newsfeed of the 2016-2017 election coverage, light is themeans of mind control. Hiromi Takizawa’s blown glass and light piece is inspired by thePacific Ocean and the shipping containers unloaded at the port of Long Beach. Finally,in Isabel Theselius’s piece, light is an elusive material that signals gaps between wordsand cognition-- a dreamstate.PRESS INQUIRIES: CONTACT INFO@CASSIERIGER.COM or FOCA@FOCALA.ORG