T. KELLY MASON

(AMERICAN, BORN 1964)

Laumeier Lamps, 2011
concrete base, electrical wiring, steel light pole, LED gobo projector, stainless steel gobos, Dichroic color filters, aluminum pipe, poly-metal, 3M VHB tape, rivets, urethane, paint
280 x 1134 x 21 inches
Laumeier Sculpture Park Commission, with funds from Ameren Missouri and additional support from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Williams, Jr.

Like Dr. Jekyll, T. Kelly Mason’s Laumeier Lamps has a secret, nocturnal, "Mr. Hyde" alter ego. By day, the buoyant letter blocks spelling UPSIDE (upside down) sit happily atop six poles, transforming the humble street lamp into cheerful sculpture. Then, just before nightfall, an electronic LED display eclipses the normal, sunny ambiance for any lingering late-night visitors. COYOTE, SHAKEN, TOTEMS, SPOOKY and other words project dramatically across the asphalt as the upper parking lot is illuminated with sinister poetics. Mason’s light show creates a lively picture as if the forest stirs to uproot, and the sculptures awaken to split free from their foundation.

The Park becomes a twilight reverie when observed from dusk until dawn. Mason’s text ties together this sensibility: “SPACES: things unlike nature make nature more visible,” thus highlighting how the artificial can be as active as the natural habitat. Other barbed phrases such as “The things in the Park are trying to think” suggest a form of metaphysical animism unleashed by this after-hours experience. Laumeier Lamps lives a double life—the seen and unseen, strict control and wild abandon, the bright glow of the public and the dark shadow of the private.

Sculpture Interaction Guideline: Look, But Do Not Touch

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

T. Kelly Mason was born in Hollywood, California, in 1964. He earned his B.A. in Music/Liberal Arts from California State University, Long Beach, in 1988 and his M.F.A. from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, in 1990. Mason was awarded a Fulbright Residency for the Study of Architecture and Urban Planning in the Panama Canal Zone Region in 2003. He has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally at institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; the David Zwirner Gallery, New York; the Corso Venezia Otto, Milano; and Galerie Tanit, Munich.

Visit www.tkellymason.com for more information.