Jim Campbell

This new installation by acclaimed San Francisco-based artist Jim Campbell explodes the moving image into three dimensions, illuminating the Haas Atrium with a flickering grid of light that is part sculpture, part cinematic screen. Thousands of computer-controlled LED spheres create the illusion of fleeting shadowlike figures that dissolve and resolve as one moves around and beneath the suspended, chandelierlike matrix. Exploded Views investigates the nuances of perception through a series of four different films, changing every two months. The first and final film was a collaboration with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet; the second studied a flock of birds; the third considered the unrehearsed movements of San Francisco pedestrians; the intensely choreographed fourth film captured a boxing match up close with a moving camera. SFMOMA will honor Campbell with the 2012 Bay Area Treasure Award for lifetime achievement in October.

Jim Campbell: Exploded Views is organized by SFMOMA. Major support for the commissioning of this work is provided by Deborah and Andy Rappaport. Additional support is provided by Roselyne Chroman Swig, Brigitte Sandquist and Phil Black, and Nancy and Joachim Bechtle.