Solar Field is a curatorial project that serves as a catalyst to stimulate discussion for future research in the field of the integration of solar farms and its aesthetic impact. To begin to address this issue we must examine the functional and aesthetic dichotomy that exists within the technology. How do we feel for something that is inanimate? How do we sympathize for something that does not feel emotion? How do we relate to something that feels almost alien? How do we see past what it is and see what it could be? These are some of the questions at the core of this exhibition.
The concerns underlying this exhibition calls attention to a larger issue of environmental sustainability. Though these solar panels come with many benefits, they come at a price. This technology affects the environment in and around their locations; from the clearing of land which could cause desert degradation and dust abatement to disrupting the habitat of indigenous native plants animals and people. By aestheticizing solar farms, we can begin to change our perspective and address the question of how we can advance solar energy with all of these considerations in mind.
This curatorial project takes on the form of a group exhibition, showcasing Platform, a 32′ x 32′ mirrored stage which will serve as a stage for a series of works by invited artists. Each artist will display one work for the duration of one month during the course of the six month exhibition. Each artists work responds to the formal, political and or ecological aspects of solar farms in the Antelope Valley.