control, transmission, and transformation of energy. Among these are small, geared electric motors; high-intensity light bulbs; proximity switches; polarized light analyzers; diodes; transistors and other Miniaturized components. The second was the existence in Now York of Canal Street and its many little shops where surplus electronic components, plastics, motors, etc. are plentifully available at far below original costs.12 Eventually, the Howard Wise Gallery became a central exhibition space for artists who worked in light, motion and sound. After several years, Wise made a clear break with painting when he presented "On the Move," in his words, the first U.S. survey exhibition of contemporary kinetic art" in 1964. The show included many artists who emerged as important figures in the medium: Agam, Calder, Ivan Chermayeff, Le Parc, George Rickey, Takis, and Tinguely. Later that year Wise exhibited the core members of Group Zero which included Heinz Mack, Otto Plane (now director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Gunther Uecker.13 Willoughby Sharp, who was involved in the growth of what he terms "kineticism," describes Group Zero as "the first artist collective concerned with movement after the Second World War ... Zero quickly arrived at an esthetic sensibility devoted to expressing dynamic, organic relationships through concrete, objective means....14 In the Wise Gallery show, Plane exhibited paintings produced with oil paint and smoke; Mack showed kinetic light pieces using aluminum, mirrors, and water: Uecker presented kinetic sculptures comprised of -white canvas and nails. A number of artists associated with the Howard Wise Gallery could be identified as a central group in the art and technology movement: Wen-Ying Tsai, whose "Cybernetic Sculpture" consisted of graceful steel rods or polished metal plates which vibrated according to the viewer's proximity, sound, or an eternal light; Le Parc, who caused a stir in 1966 by winning the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale shortly after Wise gave him a large show. 15 Lye, who was well-known for his abstract animated films as well as his kinetic sculpture; and Howard Jones, a light and sound sculptor. In February 1967 the gallery exhibited "Lights in Orbit," a popular survey of light work which included work by Jones, Le Parc, Mack, Piene, Takis, Uecker, USCO, and Wilfred, as well as several artists who soon after began experimentations with television: Jackie Cassen, Rudi Stem, Earl Reiback, Thomas Tadlock, and Nam June Paik, who had been working with television since 1963. David Shirey wrote in Newsweek, The Howard Wise Gallery... usually serene, Is pulsating, flashing, glowing and vibrating these days like the movies' old dream of the mad scientist's laboratory. Strobe lights rake the walls and rotating -->> next page |