Hillside as Darkness
In looking at potential sites for an installation in Joshua Tree, Allen Compton was taken by the darkness he experienced his first night there. With the landscape only barely visible, he found it difficult to understand his physical relationship to the shapes that he could see. This space created by the darkness vacillated between the forms that he recalled seeing during the daytime, a completely flat silhouette, and a void. It was this ambiguous experience between knowing and projecting that Allen wished to explore with the light installationHillside as Darkness.
The line of tiny blue lights installed on the hillside suggests some of the forms that exist in the darkness. This simple gestural line of light makes a small portion of one of the ridgelines across the hills, highlighting the inability to understand the physical presence of these masses. Without any visible shape to define or fix these forms, it becomes a space of emptiness and possibility.
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MAY 24, 2003 - MAY 25, 2003
“Welcome back to HDTS for another go round in the desert. Bigger and better is an understatement. HDTS has gone from a handful of artists to nearly a stadiumful. We’ve put together the following suggested itinerary to help you plan your time in the desert. Be sure to bring along plenty of water and sunscreen during your visit. Please be aware that the distances between sites can be fairly long.
Suggested HDTS 2 Itinerary:
Saturday morning: Show up at The Projects on Acoma in Yucca Valley to pick up a map and publication.
Saturday 10:00-6:00 view sites 1,2,3,4,5,6
8:00 pm. Drive along hwy 62 to see light pieces on site 5
8:00-10:00pm. Dinner at Palms
10:00pm. after party at Site 7*
Sunday 12:00-6:00 view site 1,2,3,4,5,6”
—From the HDTS 2 catalogue
