Light of the Word

Beaumont museum hosting art exhibit you can touch

Visitors link hands to activate “You Are Magic,” part of “Alicia Eggert: All the Light You See” at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas through July 7. Photo by Andy Coughlan

When we visit a museum, the first thing we are told is not to touch the art. Guards stand around seemingly scrutinizing our every move lest we get too close. But sometimes, as with Alicia Eggert’s exhibition at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, the guards watch closely eager to prompt one to touch and interact with the exhibition.

“All the Light You See,” on display through July 7, requires our participation. Entering the main gallery, we are confronted with a large barrier comprising 1,100 hand-cut ribbons. On it are projected the words “The Future Comes.” On a visit with my parents, they paused, not knowing what to do. The guards softly said, “You can walk through it.” They gingerly parted the ribbons to be faced with another curtain, this one reading, “From Behind Our Backs.” Pass through that, to another, then three more (I’ll let the viewer discover the full text).

This seemingly simple piece (if one counts 6,600 hand-cut ribbons, projections and colored lighting as simple) raises a lot of interesting questions. Do we gently part the ribbons to pass through or do we walk boldly into the unknown as if passing through a car wash (the piece was originally installed in a Dallas parking garage during the pandemic lockdown and has been reimagined for pedestrians)? Do we pause before each slogan and ponder it? Do we consider each text on its own merit or do we consider the six parts as a whole?

Curtains comprising 1,100 ribbons are part of “Alicia Eggert: All the Light You See” at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas through July 7. Photo by Andy Coughlan

Collectively titled “The Future Comes From Behind Our Backs,” each of the ribboned walls is a different colored material, with various shades within that color. The words are projected from the side wall so that standing straight on the letters causes them to blur out as they get further away from the source, creating an abstract of light as the ribbons gently sway. The slower one goes, the more one sees. Or better still, the more times one visits, the more one can focus on the peripheral details.

Once the visitor has passed through the curtains, we are confronted by a large installation of neon lighting and sound. “We Are Magic” literally cannot be viewed alone. It requires two people to reach across the divide to touch the hand pads or one is forced to stand before a wall that only hints at something wonderful. Once the circuit is made, the wall suddenly begins to light up, sounds playing, as the randomized sequence flashes multicolored neon letters and lines. One feels as though breaking the connection will spoil the magic.

However, as the piece forces us to connect with each other, it is not until we finally let go of each other’s hands that the full wall blazes color and light. Then it is gone. A fleeting moment. The only way to recapture the moment is to find another hand to hold.

Visitors link hands to activate “You Are Magic,” part of “Alicia Eggert: All the Light You See” at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas through July 7. Photo by Andy Coughlan

However, that moment is gone. The next experience will be different. The excellent gallery essay by Marin R. Sullivan focuses on the word “Now.” The word, Sullivan writes, “conveys immediacy…but also a futile attempt to …categorize something that is gone as soon as it is named.” Interacting with the work enables us to be present in the now, no matter how fleeting.”

The exhibition also includes other wall pieces that incorporate text that changes as one looks at it. The neon signs on the side walls next to “You Are Magic” are red and blue as a nod to the upcoming elections.

Eggert’s lenticular prints are photographs of neon signs constructed in landscapes. The text changes as one moves position in relation to the image. Words disappear to challenge the meaning. For example, “This Present Moment Used to be the Unimaginable Future” becomes “This Moment Used to be the Future.”

AMSET is open seven days a week and admission is free, meaning there is no excuse not to visit “All the Light You See” often. Pop in for a minute just to feel the ribbons as you walk though. Pause in front the texts and take in the messages. And if you find yourself standing alone in front of an unlit wall, ask someone for a hand. Connecting lights up the world.

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas is located at 500 Main St. in Beaumont. For more, visit amset.org.

This story first ran on the May 19, 2024 Art of Living section of The Beaumont Enterprise.