In 1680, when Halley’s comet was observed, it signaled to some of the more mystical members of religious societies that the world would end within the next two decades. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and many ends of the world have come and gone in the past 337 years. As the eclipse of 2017 drew a shadow across the sun’s face, we all looked to the sky with amazement. Some of us wondering, with the world as dark as it has been in recent days, that perhaps this was a foreboding sign. From fireballs to comets to the eclipse, the work in Look Up highlights this fascination with unnatural celestial phenomena and our proclivity to look for meaning in these events
The Eclipse Viewer paintings use a discrete palette of 4 colors and silver leaf. The palette, derived from elements dispersed by ancient supernovae includes iron, calcium, carbon, and phosphorus, rendering a connection between the observers and what Carl Sagan called “star stuff.”.
The eclipse painting uses a phosphorescent ground as the background, this allows the paintings to have two different looks depending on whether the lights are on or off.
