FORT McMURRAY.
As of 2015 the light bulb as we know it, also called the Edison bulb, will no longer be produced in North America. While this marks an advance in environmental responsibility, it also marks the death of a technology that changed the world.
The Light is currently on display at Jubilee Plaza in Fort McMurray Alberta until all 360 tungsten bulbs die near the end of 2015. The lights will twinkle out at staggered rates, some holding on longer and some snuffed out early. The work invites contemplation of the inevitability of the viewer’s mortality. To resist change is as futile as the fight against death. On the contrary, lights represent hope and ideas, allowing viewers to bring layered meaning into their contemplation of the work. Because the piece is time based, it is likely be different each time it is experienced.
The Light, is a sculpture by artist Sarah Beck and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” is a line from a poem by Dylan Thomas titled “Do not go gentle into that good night”.
Photos: Sarah Beck.
