the Rice Thresher

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: David Brown Professor John Sparagana, artist Nico Gardner and his sister Rica Gardner stand outside the Matchbox Gallery last Thursday for the opening of Gardner's new installation, Intersections: Houston, which displays video footage projected onto curtains of string.

Just off the Sewall Hall courtyard, flashes of Houston scenery from two projectors travel acros loops upon loops of white string, intricately threaded into a multilayered sculpture that appears to float in the middle of the Matchbox Gallery's black walls. Lovett College senior Nico Gardner's exhibit, Intersections: Houston, opened last Thursday at the Matchbox Gallery and captures a view of Houston that is both deeply personal and visually intriguing.

Gardner said the idea of a "map of Houston" was a plan he had considered for some time. The projected footage was recorded on two cameras Gardner mounted to his car, one pointing up and the other forward, so both the Houston skyline and his most-traveled routes were recorded.

Gardner said he took friends along with him to reminisce while making the videos for the work. The length of the strings themselves, Gardner said, gives the viewer a general idea of the amount of driving needed for the footage.

The idea of the string sculpture itself, however, occurred to him later; originally, Gardner said, he considered carving a foam piece to hang on the wall. His decision to use strings is a wise one: The complexity and beauty of the completed sculpture completely surpasses his original concept.

"I had been building these string sculptures, and one of the critiques was that it was not linked to anything specific, that it was more a setting," Gardner said. "There was nothing specific about it, so I decided that the Houston idea would be perfect."

Indeed, the combination of the ethereal light with ordinarily mundane, plain white strings is a unique take on representing physical space. However, to truly appreciate the full visual effect, one must see this sculpture in person. Pictures prove inadequate at capturing all aspects of the piece, failing to portray the ever-moving juxtaposition of images, the road ahead and the sky above.

The artwork is not necessarily interactive so much as it is relational. Several people, after coming closer to the sculpture, exclaimed excitedly when they saw places and locales they recognized in the images. Some crouched near the ends of the suspended strings, gazing up at the form and following the lines to their end.

Knowing the content of the projected videos, the beauty of the installation takes on another dimension - the realization of the ways Houston is seen through another's eyes. Regardless of background, the installation presented Houston in a way many viewers found unconventional.

It is fitting, then, that one of the most striking moments of the footage occurs when the car stops under a tree, and the upwards-pointing camera records a view of the bright sun shining through the foliage. In the few minutes in which the car is stopped, one wonders whether he or she has ever really considered the beauty of the Houston sky. The viewer, whether a native Houstonian or a student from out of town, will be moved to realize just how beautiful, just how emotionally engaging, Intersections: Houston truly is.

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