Experiencing Light as Sculpture: Anthony McCall Special Exhibition opens at the XR Lab on the basement level of the Ulsan Museum of Art from February 5 to June 14. The exhibition presents a major body of work by internationally acclaimed media artist Anthony McCall, focusing on how light, space, and the human body interact to form a unified artistic experience. Co-organized by the Ulsan Museum of Art and Futura Seoul, the exhibition redefines media art as something to be physically experienced rather than merely observed.
At the heart of Experiencing Light as Sculpture: Anthony McCall Special Exhibition is McCall’s renowned Solid Light series. Emerging from experimental film practices in the early 1970s, McCall developed a distinctive artistic language using projected light and atmospheric haze. His works transcend the boundaries between film, sculpture, and installation, allowing light itself to be perceived as a tangible, sculptural form within space.
 [The Korean Today] Anthony McCall, 2018 © By Soyoung Jeong |
The centerpiece of the exhibition is Line Describing a Cone 2.0, a digitally reconfigured version of McCall’s seminal 1973 work. First updated in 2010, the piece visualizes a single line that gradually expands into a cone-shaped volume of light over time. Visitors are invited to walk through and around the illuminated structure, experiencing shifts in space and temporality through their own movement. As suggested by the exhibition title, the artwork is completed through the physical presence and participation of the viewer.
 [The Korean Today] Anthony McCall, You and I, at the Horizontal, 2006Horizontal projector, 50-minute loop, silent © By Soyoung Jeong |
Alongside Line Describing a Cone 2.0, the exhibition features other major works from the Solid Light series, including You and I, at the Horizontal and Throes II, as well as the sound installation Traveling Wave. These works demonstrate how McCall has consistently expanded the conceptual foundations of his early practice through digital technology, enhancing both form and sensory perception. The changing configurations of light in response to viewers’ positions make the essence of media art immediately perceptible.
Experiencing Light as Sculpture: Anthony McCall Special Exhibition is structured around the concept of “expanded cinema.” This approach moves beyond the traditional cinematic experience of watching a screen from a fixed seat, instead transforming the entire space—and the viewer’s body—into an integral part of the medium. Visitors are not passive spectators but active participants, walking within the artwork and shaping their own perceptual experience.
According to representatives of the Ulsan Museum of Art, the exhibition distinguishes itself from conventional media art shows by encouraging direct bodily engagement. Rather than observing media from a distance, visitors enter into it, rethinking the relationship between light, technology, and sensory perception. The exhibition also reflects Ulsan’s growing role as a cultural city that extends beyond its industrial identity.
The exhibition offers a rare opportunity for audiences in Korea and abroad to encounter a comprehensive presentation of Anthony McCall’s work. For both contemporary art enthusiasts and newcomers seeking an innovative exhibition experience, it provides a compelling insight into how art can function as an embodied encounter. Further details are available on the official website of the Ulsan Museum of Art.
Running through June 14, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover their own movement and awareness within spaces shaped by light. Experiencing Light as Sculpture: Anthony McCall Special Exhibition stands as a powerful example of how art can transcend medium and become lived experience.
[ By Soyoung Jeong | Ulsan Gangbuk | ulsangangbuk@thekoreantoday.com ]
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