15,000 & More: A Plethora of Light & Darkness
“15,000 & MORE: A Plethora of Light & Darkness” is a temporary art installation of over 15,000 silver and gold ingot-shaped folded paper structures currently on display at the Glendale Central Library. The gold and silver ingots are attached in long groupings to a string and suspended from the Central Library’s ceiling. Best viewed from the front windows of the Library at night, each ingot within the exhibit represents a life lost to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. It is both a beautiful and poignant reminder that while numbers of new cases are currently on the decline, daily case counts are still three times higher than they were in October, and County reports have identified new strains of the virus in the community.
The exhibit was the brainchild of artist Connie D.K. Lane, who engaged several Glendale community members in crafting many of the ingots via an artist-pick-up-kit, made available at the Central Library in November 2020. Lane created a how-to video to instruct participants in the making of the ingots. Once community members had finished folding the ingot papers, they returned them to Glendale’s Central Library.
Lane states, “My work weaves the threads of history with strands of ideas to imbue cultural metaphors to construct meaning. I explore this process from my memories of living in Hong Kong. By translating my distant impressions into visceral experiences, I create sculptural installations to integrate materials and elements that are inherent references to Chinese culture. Working with the physicality of materials, I respond to perceptual connections in space to create a visual aesthetic, rich in content, an immersive environment that seeks to impart a sensational and emotional experience for perceivers. This installation, “15,000 & More: A Plethora of Light & Darkness,” brings me closer to reflect on the notion of identity as well as to emphasize that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has marked an unprecedented time in modern history and taken a considerable toll on our community and globally. Inspired by Chinese ancestral worship using joss papers as an offering to deceased family members and relatives, my purpose is to fold 15,000 & more joss papers into the individual shape of ingots with help from the community as a special tribute to the lost lives from the coronavirus in the county of Los Angeles.”
As many Los Angeles County residents are currently celebrating the Lunar New Year, it seemed appropriate to mount the exhibit now to coincide with this holiday. The exhibit will stay up at least through June 2021. This exhibit is sponsored by the City of Glendale Arts and Culture Commission as part of the Art Happens Anywhere (AHA) program. In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its devastating effects on the arts and culture community, the City of Glendale's Library, Arts & Culture department and the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission re-launched the AHA Program, with the purpose of encouraging the expansion of arts and culture activities to benefit the citizens of our community during these unique times. Through innovative uses of digital and virtual technology, audience interactivity, and unconventional delivery methods, the AHA Program seeks to foster progressive attitudes toward art, art-making, and performance, and to elevate the role of art in enhancing a community. The AHA Program is also an opportunity for artists to immediately begin working on a proposed project, resulting in the stimulation of the creative economy in Glendale and beyond during these challenging times. For more information, please click here.