b. 1946
b. 1946
Anthony McCall is widely recognized for his ‘solid-light’ installations, hybrid works between sculpture, drawing, and cinema in which projected beams of light inscribe three-dimensional forms into smoke-filled interiors.
Active in the avant-garde cinema communities of London and New York in the 1960s and 1970s, McCall began working in film and performance before developing his ‘solid-light’ installations, beginning with Light Describing A Cone, 1973. In this work, audiences moved freely within the space as a three-dimensional cone of light slowly emerged from a projector. P. Adams Sitney, in his landmark history of avant-garde cinema, Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde, described McCall’s installations of the 1970s as, “the most brilliant case of an observation on the essentially sculptural quality of every cinematic situation.” Since the 1990s, technological advancements have allowed McCall to continue to develop these installations, to involve multiple projectors inscribing increasingly complex and interwoven forms. Recent solid-light works such as Split Second consist of multiple, interpenetrating solid-light forms creating a dynamic, activated space. McCall’s work makes visible the immaterial qualities of cinema, including light, space, and duration. His installations liberate the viewer to engage with their materials through both the body and the eye.
The historical importance of McCall’s work’s has been internationally recognized in such exhibitions as Dark Rooms, Solid Light, at the Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York (2019), Anthony McCall: Solid Light Works, at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, New York (2018); Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905-2016 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2016); On Line at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010-11), The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Projected Image at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC (2008); and The Geometry of Motion 1920s/1970s at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2008).
McCall’s work has also been exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Tate Britain, London, England; Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, France; Musée de Rochechouart, France; SFMoMA, San Francisco; Serpentine Gallery, London, England; Hangar Bicocca, Milan, Italy; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand; the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal; the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany; the Faena Arts Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina; LOK | Kunstmuseum St Gallen, Switzerland; Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, Lugano, Switzerland; and the Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, England, amongst others. His [MOU3] [AL4] work is represented in numerous collections, including, Tate, London, England; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; SFMoMA, San Francisco; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC.
Anthony McCall currently lives and works in New York.
For more information, please visit www.anthonymccall.com.
Doubling Back, 2003
Computer, computer script, video projector, haze machine. One cycle 30 minutes, in two parts (horizontal)
dimensions variable
edition of 5 with 1 AP
AMC-35
Line Describing a Cone, 1973
16mm projected installation, 30 minutes
open edition
AMC-45
Long Film for Four Projectors, 1974
16mm projected installation (for four projectors). One cycle 5.5 hours.
edition of 3 with 1 AP
AMC-49
Breath II, 2004
video projector, computer, digital file, haze machine
one cycle: 10 minutes
variable dimensions
edition of 5 with 1 AP
AMc-12
You and I, Horizontal, 2005
Computer, computer script, video projector, haze machine. One cycle 50 minutes, in six parts (horizontal).
edition of 5 with 1 AP
AMC-57
"Between You and I" (London), 2006
Fuji crystal archive chromogenic print mounted to Plexiglas
48 x 34 inches (121.9 x 86.4 cm)
edition of 7 with 2 APs
AMc-15
You and I, Horizontal (III), 2007
Computer, QuickTime movie file, two video projectors, two haze machines. One cycle 30 minutes, in two parts (horizontal).
dimensions variable
edition of 3 with 1 AP
AMc-24
Meeting You Halfway II, 2009
computer, digital file, video projector, haze machine
one cycle: 15 minutes
variable dimensions
edition of 5 with 1 AP
AMc-137
Coupling, 2009
video projector, computer, QuickTime Movie file, haze machine
one cycle: 16 minutes in four parts
variable dimensions
edition of 5 with 1 AP
work includes a signed and numbered certificate
AMc-119
Face to Face, 2013
computer, two video projectors, two haze machines, two double-sided
projection screens, Matrox splitter, QuickTime movie file one cycle: 30 minutes in two parts
edition of 3 with 1 AP
Programming: Eric Mika
AMc-183
Earthwork, 1972
16mm, color, magnetic sound, 2 minutes 20 seconds, transferred to DVD in 2007
edition of 15 with 2APs
AMC-42
Circulation Figures, 1972/2011
Room Installation comprised of two mirrors, one double-sided projection screen, 16 mm film transferred to QuickTime movie file, one video projector, four audio speakers, newsprint. Total running time: 36 minutes
dimensions variable
edition of 3 with 1 AP
AMc-158
Long Film for Ambient Light, 1975
Installation view at Dia:Chelsea, Light Industry
Site-specific film installation (room, altered windows, light bulb, statement, map). One cycle 24 hours.
unique in an edition of 5
AMC-51
Miniature in Black and White, 1972
81 slides, miniature Plexiglas screen, Kodak Carousel Projector
11 x 24 3/8 x 61 3/8 inches (28 x 62 x 156 cm)
edition of 5 with 2 APs
AMC-34
Landscape for Fire, 1972/2006
16mm color optical film with sound transferred to DVD, 7:30 minutes
edition of 15 with 3 APs
AMC-23
Column (Bending to the Wind), 2009
graphite on paper
paper: 55 3/4 x 38 inches (141.6 x 96.5 cm)
framed: 58 1/2 x 41 inches (148.6 x 104.1 cm)
AMc-130
Crossing the Hudson (April 12, the 295th night), 2009
pencil on paper in 3 parts
paper: 43 1/2 x 36 3/8 inches (110.5 x 92.5 cm) each
overall paper dimensions: 43 1/2 x 109 1/4 inches (110.5 x 277.5 cm)
framed: 47 1/2 x 113 1/4 inches (120.6 x 287.7 cm)
AMc-136
Study for Column II (Day/Cloud, Night/Fire), 2009
graphite wash, oil pastel on paper (diptych)
paper: 29 5/8 x 21 1/4 inches (75.2 x 54 cm) each
framed: 33 1/2 x 25 inches (85.1 x 63.5 cm) each
AMc-118a,b
Studies for "Breath", 2009
3 works: graphite on paper
1 work: pigment print
paper: 13 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches (34.9 x 27.3 cm) each
AMc-126a-d
Fire Cycles III, 1974
sequential study; colored pencil on graph paper
17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm) paper: 17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm)
AMC-WP.148
Fire Cycles III, 1974
sequential study; colored pencil on graph paper
17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm) paper: 17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm)
AMC-WP.147
Fire Cycles III, 1974
sequential study; colored pencil on graph paper
17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm) paper: 17 5/8 x 22 1/4 inches (44.8 x 56.5 cm)
AMC-WP.146
Fire Cycles II (Stockholm, September 3, 1973), 1973
vintage gelatin silver print
paper: 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
AMC-WP.135
"Coupling": Study for Projected, Solid-Light Installation, Guggenheim Museum, Rotunda to Floor, 2009
paper: 37 7/8 x 27 inches (96.2 x 68.6 cm)
AMc-186
Partial Cone, 1974
schematic drawing; graphite on paper
paper: 39 3/4 x 28 1/4 inches (101 x 71.8 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, recto
AMC-WP.176
Pencil Duration, 1974
graphite on paper
on verso: “short strokes, x1 in from each corner (heavy pressure). January 1974 NYC”.
paper: 30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm)
AMC-WP.36
Partial Cone, 1974
Schematic drawing
ink and pencil on graph paper
paper: 12 5/8 x 17 7/8 inches (32.1 x 45.4 cm))
framed: 18 1/4 x 23 1/2 inches (46.4 x 59.7 cm)
AMC-WP.173
Long Film for Four Projectors, 1974
Installation study
photocopy and pencil on paper
paper: 8 x 10 1/2 inches (20.32 x 26.67 cm)
framed: 12 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches (32.4 x 38.7 cm)
AMC-WP.181
Solid Light Through Air and Water, 1973
preparatory study. ink wash and pencil on paper
paper: 14 x 17 inches (35.6 x 43.2 cm)
AMC-WP.18
White Noise Installation, Surge on the Diagonal I, 1973/2008
ink and wash on paper
paper: 14 1/8 x 23 inches (35.9 x 58.4 cm)
framed: 16 3/4 x 25 3/8 inches (42.5 x 64.5 cm)
AMC-WP.12
In Circuit, 1974
Animation camera schema
pencil, colored pencil, and red ink on paper
paper: 22 x 30 inches (56 x 76 cm)
framed: 28 x 36 inches (71.1 x 91.4 cm)
AMC-WP.177
Yellow Solid, Black Solid, 1973
2 books, offset lithography on paper
book: 9 x 5 5/8 x 7/8 inches (22.9 x 14.3 x 2.2 cm) each
edition of 5
AMC-WP.203
Neil Koenig, ideaXme Board Advisor and former Senior BBC Series Producer interviews Artist, Anthony McCall.
Installation video of Anthony McCall: Split Second at Sean Kelly, New York, December 14, 2018 - January 26, 2019, Video: Sean Mattison, Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York © Anthony McCall
VernissageTV: Anthony McCall: Solid Light Works / Pioneer Works, New York, March 6, 2018
Freunde der Nationalgalerie: Anthony McCall, Five Minutes of Pure Sculpture. August 17, 2016.
Arts Hub: Interview with Anthony McCall, December 5, 2016
Blouin ArtInfo: Anthony McCall's Notebooks & Duration Drawings, Jul. 9, 2015
TateShots: Anthony McCall – Line Describing a Cone, Aug. 13, 2008