16mm film loops are cool, right? So are smoke machines and tangible cones of light, correct? Now, apart from several 'mandatory' analyses of "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and a few cursory flips through "Artforum" magazine, I know almost nothing about contemporary art theory and practice. But I knows what I likes when I sees it. And I liked this "Line Describing a Cone" installation (Anthony McCall, 1973) that I experienced while drinking at the Darklight Symposium in Dublin this past weekend. According to the Darklight pamphlet, "this film-installation questions the traditional film limitations eliminating the screen in favour of the primacy of the projection event. It draws attention to the projector's cone of light interacting with the physical presence of the audience."
Interact we did: my friend Goodtime John actually LICKED the cone of light. Unlike most contemporary art, however, this is one installation that WON'T leave a bad taste in your mouth. Although, now that I think about it, GTJ did indeed complain of a weird 'chemically' taste after probing the cone with his fleshy speech organ. So, uh, don't lick the cone of light unless you want to walk away with a bad taste in your mouth.
Asshats, it's raining again.