McClain Gallery is pleased to present Sky Machine: River, a solo exhibition by Texas-based artist duo, Jeff Shore and Jon Fisher. This installation based art work sets into motion a carefully controlled, real-time, live-action orchestration of light, computer controlled algorithms, and camera video equipment used to create an extraordinary landscape dominated by a moving cloud filled sky.
Sky Machine's live-action image of a moving sky over a landscape, and the accompanying soundtrack, are generated by the sculpture itself and evolves without repetition. The action occurs in a constructed miniature diorama of a river canyon. The changing imagery of the sky is created by a vibrating pan and tilting plastic tray containing different sizes of sand particles that move freely in response to the vibration generated by the sculpture; this is all captured with a small video camera and transfered to a monitor for real-time viewing.
Shore and Fisher combine numerous engineering elements all for the sake of recreating something as simple and elegant as clouds moving over a majestic river canyon. This sculptural installation alludes to the grand black and white nature photography of Ansel Adams and combines elements of the mysterious, atmospheric photography of Hiroshi Sigimoto.
Jeff Shore and Jon Fisher's exhibitions have been reviewed by Artforum, Art in America and The New York Times. Their traveling exhibition Reel to Reel is on view at the Kemper Museum, Kansas City, Missouri, from November 7, 2008 through January 11, 2009; on February 1, 2009 the exhibition will open at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Both Jeff Shore and Jon Fisher completed their undergraduate studies at North Texas State University, Denton, TX; Jeff Shore attended the painting MFA program at the University of Houston; Jon Fisher completed his MM and DM in music at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.