Creative Matters Lecture Series: Gerry Hofstetter
Old Capitol Museum — Thursday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.
Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter has an ambitious goal: Over the course of 2017-19, he and his daughter Céline (who is based in Los Angeles) will bring their Light Art Grand Tour USA to all 50 states.
The tour identifies a key landmark in each state to work with, a place of historical and political significance, and transforms it into a transitory light art sculpture.
“Old Capitol means, ‘History was made here,'” Gerry told Little Village of his choice to include the Iowa City landmark in his tour. He’ll be illuminating the Old Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 4.
Light Artist Illuminates the Old Capitol
World-renowned light artist Gerry Hofstetter and his team will illuminate the Old Capitol this evening from 8-9 as a part of the Light Art Grand Tour USA.Full Story: https://littlevillagemag.com/light-artist-gerry-hofstetter-illuminates-the-old-capitol/
Posted by Little Village Mag on Thursday, October 4, 2018
The goal of the tour is to foster a kinship between the U.S. and Switzerland, where Gerry still lives and works. The website for the tour emphasizes that the two countries share “the same core values of freedom, liberty and democracy.”
The father-daughter team will continue working in the U.S. for a fourth year following the close of the tour, putting together a 2021 calendar and wrapping post-production on a film about the project.
Gerry has been exploring and experimenting with large-scale light projections for nearly two decades. He has lit everything from Arctic icebergs to the pyramids. He has brought Céline along with him since she was very young.
He praises his equipment for allowing him to explore the far edges of possibility. His static light projectors are powerful enough to reach 3000 feet, even in the bitter cold, to project onto icebergs.
Prior to his projections on Thursday, Gerry will be giving a lecture as part of the Creative Matters Lecture Series at the University of Iowa. His talk will take place in the Old Capitol Museum at 5 p.m. His is the second talk of the 2018-19 series.
