Voelz Chandler: Beauty of sun, moon exposed

Published November 10, 2006 at midnight

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Photography is all about light, and Erika Blumenfeld is among the contingent of artists who prefer to work from available light, even when it may seem there is none available to work with.

In a show of her work this month at Rule Gallery, she uses as her subject our planet's two great light sources: the sun, with its powerful impact on survival, and the moon, an object of lore and romance, and beautiful in its chilly solitude.

"Enduring Light" is about vision, pure and simple, and the way in which the New Mexico-based Blumenfeld approaches the ephemeral status of natural phenomena.

In this instance, that entails two series and one multipart work that addresses an event involving the moon.

That would be the 15-part Light Recording: Greatest Lunar Apogee/ Perigee of 2004. In this piece, which has plenty of room to breathe on one of the gallery's long, side walls, Blumenfeld recorded light by exposing film directly. Instead of a camera, she used what the gallery terms a handmade recording device.

The work captures the moon during that year's most extreme cycle of apogee (when it is farthest away) and perigee (when it is closest) as it follows its elliptical orbit. The result is photographs (almost photograms, really), laminated on aluminum panels, that document a moon that appears to grow and shrink like some sort of throbbing heart as it makes its way around the Earth.

Blumenfeld then turns to the sun for two series: "Fractions of Light & Time," and "Spring 2005."

In the first instance, the gallery shows 15 views of something and nothing, in terms of how the artist again used a device to record - in three seconds - the light available at various times (morning and night) on June 16-18 in Marfa, Texas. Hung in a grid, the works range from images of literal slices of light to near darkness. It's a little like watching a sunset or sunrise over and over again, and perhaps missing the crucial moment in which the sun finally, totally sinks out of view.

A larger image from the series, made on June 19, is hung separately, with the "light recordings" of the "Spring 2005" series. The latter were made, in two-second exposures, during the 93 days between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice - spring to you and me. Rounding out this otherworldly display is an animated projected work that lays the 93 images on top of one another, creating a dazzling, moving sun against a bright blue ground.

Blumenfeld has shown at Rule previously, a 2002 exhibition, "Semblance," that included other artists whose medium is light and whose palette is drawn from the properties inherent in that spectacular force.

In "Enduring Light," Blumenfeld demonstrates how her work has evolved over the past few years, her commitment to precision, and her ability to freeze beauty and mystery on paper.

STAY HASN'T: It's not unusual to hear about a show not coming together because the artist ran into problems.

But the gallery owners?

In the case of Stay Gallery, a relatively new, but attractive, space at 3519 Brighton Blvd., that's who bailed, leaving artist Lela Shields with no place to hang her work a few days before the announced Nov. 3 opening of "The Golden Rupture."

But in the spirit of the art community's ability to overcome adversity (most of the time, at least), Shields says she traded a painting with the landlord to rent space for a month.

So "The Golden Rupture" opened Friday, people showed up (thanks to e-mails about her plight), and will continue through the month. Though call her (1-540-454-7191) before you go, because visits will be by appointment only.

And is it worth the trip?

Shields' work is predominantly ink on paper, imagery that pulls from her interest in the concept of the cabinet of curiosities. Her fantastical beasts and people, rendered in a delicate, even ethereal style that reaches into history for inspiration, resonate with a sense of exploration. And a handful of miniature paintings addresses matters of the heart in a fine way.

As for the owners of the gallery, Amy Bodin did not return a call to inquire about what had caused them to pack up. What's odd is that about 10 days before the opening, she called urging that I visit the show.

Whatever: Stay apparently goes after the end of this month, an unfortunate casualty of some sort of personal problem. Till then, it is in Unit E in the building that used to house Revoluciones Gallery.

Enduring Light

• What: Photographs and projected installation by Erika Blumenfeld

• Where and when: Rule Gallery, 227 Broadway; through Dec. 9

• Information: 303-777-9473; www.rulegallery.com

Cultural affairs in the year ahead

At the Nov. 1 meeting of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, Mayor John Hickenlooper talked about five goals for the cultural affairs office for 2007.

• Plan a signature event for 2007. The office may go to the community soon to talk about what the event should be, but remember that citywide biennial the commission was investigating in 2004? The one Lab director Adam Lerner researched? That's among the events to be considered.

• Work with Denver International Airport to use art to promote Denver as a destination.

• Examine how to create afford- able live/work spaces for artists (a la the Creative Spaces process that will culminate Nov. 27 with a report given at the Oriental Theater).

• Sponsor an arts education summit.

• Continue to help arts groups build their strength through conferences and technical assistance.

Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

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