Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The new Center for Modern and Contemporary art has a very interesting subtext... light. It sounds banal but I'm certain everyone understands how light is the core of visual perception. For those in Portland this focus will make the collection very engaging during the dark months from November to April. Three works in the museum's practically secret contemporary collection certainly shine some light on the subject:


Dan Flavin
Untitled (To Donna) II
1971.
Fluorescent light. Portland Art Museum, Museum Purchase: National Endowment for the Arts Purchase Plan Grant matched by the Contemporary Art Council. © 2005 Estate of Dan Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York


André Kertész
Martinque
1972.
Gelatin silver print. Portland Art Museum, Gift of the Collections Committee and Friends in memory of Elizabeth Swindells. ©Courtesy of the Estate of Andre Kertész, 2005.


 
Matthew McCaslin
Alaska
1995.
Television sets, clocks, light bulbs, VCR, electrical hardware, rolling cart. Portland Art Museum, Museum Purchase, Robert Hale Ellis Jr. Fund for the Blanche Elouise Day Ellis and Robert Hale Ellis Memorial Collection. © Matthew McCaslin.