There, blue and amber, complementary colors, are used on opposite sides of the stage. What we're doing here is much less dramatic, but it does help bring out the form of the work. John then tells me about choosing wall colors. The goal, of course, is to have the main energy coming from inside the artwork. But first, I want visitors to enjoy the space as a whole.
Artful lighting can make all the difference.
The more patient the lighting designer, the better the result. We're usually the last ones in during those pressured few hours right before the show opens. Scott then takes me to see Larry Fuente's 1988 Game Fish, at NMAA's Renwick Gallery. It is a mounted sailfish trophy decorated with a few thousand pop culture tchotchkes, many related to games, including statuettes of Gumby, Superman, Cap'n Crunch, Popeye and just about everybody else you can think of. I wanted to make certain that visitors could pick out each and every object, so I used low-voltage bulbs that produce small, precise beams.