Keith Lemley is my favorite artist for his combinations of light and texture to make unearthly concept art.The Woods is a sculpture piece that takes up a entire room and is a commentary piece on deforestation. the piece was made in 2012 making it a resent contemporary piece.most of Lemleys work uses neon tubes to create a line art like “drawing” in this case it is a 2D silhouette a 3D field. so line and shape are used together in a distinct image of a axe.the neon tube has no visible texture, but the cement room and stumps are the only texture in the piece, the cement is worn, being smooth in some places and jagged in others. the sumps are split so the wood grain is plain to see. Most of the colors are muted grey and browns, with the white of the neon making a huge contrast. For value the axes are the main light source with rest of the room in darkness. i think that is what makes the piece so interesting, that rather than spotlights lighting the work, it lights the room. much of the piece is open space to walk around in,and also to feel the emptiness of a cleared forest, so empty, but not unused space is a big part of the work.
the work is haunting, the dark makes you feel unease, with your eyes drawn to the axes, vaguely threatening lining the walls and balanced on ragged stumps.the leaning axes on the wall give a “finished” feel, what ever happened here is done no going back, everything has been cut and ruined.
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