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October 24, 2002
Mary Jessica Hammes

Bright lights, luminous art: Artist Didi Dunphy creates interactive artwork

Artist Didi Dunphy's newest project, "Modern Convenience: Luminous Object I," follows a concept explored previously on the Internet and in soft Naugahyde-upholstered forms. This time, it dazzles with light, playfully reminiscent of the child's game Lite Brite.

Didi Dunphy is known for her playful take on art that delves into serious profundity, exploring issues like feminism and modernism and the relationship of the two.

Dunphy's sense of humor has led to delicate needlepoint mirroring Piet Mondrian's stout color blocks. Her Modern Convenience project, an ongoing body of work, has yielded supple and modular Naugahyde forms in various colors, from princess-pale to candy-bright. Last winter, Dunphy launched an online version of Modern Convenience that invited audience participation, making a game of playing installation artist.

Now, "Modern Convenience: Luminous Object 1" is shedding new light—fluorescent, in fact—on a similar concept.

Remember Lite Brite? The childhood game in which clear, plastic pegs could dazzle when arranged and illuminated on an electric black surface? It will come to mind when gazing at Dunphy's newest creation: A flat, three-foot square of stainless steel, laser-cut with 800 holes, each a home for a brightly colored, hollowed out bulb of plastic. Dunphy collaborated with several Georgia-based manufacturers to produce her designs. The little jewel-toned globes are a snug fit on the steel board, and have a satisfying weight to hold.

"I wanted them to have an appealing feel in the hand," she says.

With banks of the fluorescent tubing lit, "It will really blast out light," she says. It should be particularly eye-catching to those driving or walking by the storefront-style Arrow Gallery.

"It was an experience in luminosity which I started thinking about in the Modern Convenience web project," she says.

It continues the idea of interacting, as Dunphy plans to rearrange the design at regular intervals. As Dunphy has done in the past, she has created smaller editions for sale, which contain 12 holes per sheet of steel and an accompanying 16 balls. She says she envisions them as a sly version of "executive desktop toys," adding a dash of fun to a work day.

"My husband (artist Jim Barsness) always says that I am redoing what I did in summer camp," she laughs. "It's another sort of revisiting of the idea of play, incorporating rigorous plat as an art practice."