Miram Scigliano’s “Victory Garden” hangs as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
WILMINGTON, NC—Silhouettes of light speckle the walls and ceiling in the Cameron Art Museum, as 42 lanterns welcome visitors to “Illumination.” The 2020 exhibit is going on its sixth year of marking the change of season as days are longer and darker, yet homes are brighter from the holiday season’s luminescence.
Annually, CAM puts out a call to artists worldwide for their interpretations of light. This year, amid a global pandemic, 50 responded.
“We asked artists to try to articulate through style, content, and material what light metaphorically means to them,” deputy director Heather Wilson said. “The artists reached deeply into their personal experiences this year and I think you can see that in the lanterns.”
Deborah Bluestein and Jeanie Redick’s “Pandora Revisited” is on display in CAM’s “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Hampstead artist Deborah Bluestein and Raleigh-based artist Jeanie Redick took a literal approach in “Pandora Revisited.” They created a life-size plaster sculpture from model Tabatha Radaker, who is masked and placing the novel coronavirus into a trunk, i.e. Pandora’s box. All white, the sculpture shows a hint of blue from the surgical mask and golden rays emitting from the model’s chest.
Local artist and Williston Middle School art teacher Lisa Schnitzler created “The Electric Chair of Peace and Love.” The chair’s function is one of sound and vision: the chair is wired but with an angel’s harp.
Participating artists sent in lanterns from all across North Carolina but also Illinois, Virginia, California, even Canada. The exhibit is juried by local arts, civic, business and government leaders, with the top three winners taking home cash prizes. The judges take into consideration aesthetics, execution, conceptualism, presentation, and effectiveness of lighting while judging.
Also on display as part of “Illumination” will be the community lantern, made up of silhouettes of its participants from an event held Nov. 7.
“For CAM this exhibition is very meaningful,” Wilson added. “It connects us with the community of artists we serve in a reflective and wonderful way.”
“Illumination” opens Nov. 20, and live music will be featured from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. by Stevenson Stohl Suzuki Studio. Lantern winners will be announced after 5 p.m. All exhibits are open with CAM admission and the CAM Café will be serving drinks and snacks until 7 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required. “Illumination” will close Jan. 10.
Chelsea Lea’s metal sculpture, “Night in the City,” is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Nicolette Johnson’s “Axolotl Salve” is made of tissue paper, wire, glue and water-based sealer, and is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Judith Chandler’s “Aha” is made of plaster, plastic rods, glue, acrylic paint and wood — on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Meg McGrew’s mixed-media “Inner Light” is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Carolyn Faulkner’s “The Finishing Touch” consists of polycarbonate plastic, wood, acrylic, paint and fabric — on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Leatha Koefler’s “Community” is plastic, wire, and crochet thread — now on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Lisa Schnitzler’s “The Electric Chair of Peace and Love” is made of wood, plastic and ceramic, and is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Ashlin Lawler and Helen Seebold’s “Enlighten,” made of paper and clay, is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Nancy Jo Sauser’s “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” is made of wire, reed and paper, and is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Joseph Silva’s “Black Box” is made of corrugated/recycled materials, now on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Kalina Todorov’s “Family Bird House,” made of stained leaded glass, is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Chris Cook’s “Embark” includes butterflies flocking to the light, made of metal, wire and plastic — on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Franscisco Negro’s “Peace OK Hanging by a Wire” is made entirely of chopsticks,and on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Maureen Melville’s mixed-media “Leaf Lantern” is on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Kay Lovingood’s gourd is titled “Hearts and Crosses,” on display as part of “Illumination.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Pate Conaway’s “Self” is made of fabric and objects, like keys, while Matthew Budd’s 15 drawings on paper make up “Hope on the Life-and-Death Shift.” (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
A close up of Louise Ramseur’s “Appetition,” made of wood dowels, decorative paper, wood glue, cotton yarn, synthetic dye, epoxy molding and resin. (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
“Illumination” is on display at CAM through January 10. (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington.
When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.
