Painting Room Lights (1981)

• 76%
• 1981
• David Haxton

In Painting Room Lights a performer paints four fluorescent lamps and makes a drawing of a landscape with a rectangular solid in the foreground. He also makes a drawing of a room in one point perspective. Two four foot fluorescent lamps stand in the foreground and two eight foot fluorescent lamps stand in the background. The drawing of the landscape and the drawing of the room appear to be made on a white surface (the film is in negative and the lights are turned off in the room). A deep space is revealed behind the drawings when the fluorescent lamps are turned on in the background. The performer then paints the fluorescent bulbs. As the lamps are painted the room disappears and the drawing seems to be again on the flat surface. The drawings are cut with scissors and they fall out of the film frame. The process is repeated with the lights in the foreground. The film is in color and the fluorescent lights are green. The negative film effectively casts the scene in red.