Anthony McCall - Line Describing a Cone (1973)
Line Describing a Cone is probably one of McCall's most infamous works in his Solid Light series and has become iconic in the history of Avant-Garde film for the reduction of the medium to its bare essentials.
Over a 30 minute period a beam of light from a 16mm projector gradually draws out a circle on the wall opposite. As the room is filled with smoke the light coming from the projector is made solid and creates the illusion of a three dimensional cone in the space between the projector and the wall. Deconstructing the filmic medium to its apparatus, the audience are also shifted in their reception of the work. Viewers become participants, and as they move around the space their bodies are implicated in the creation and modification of the shapes made by light. Although simple in their nature, works from the Solid Light series involve a deep sensory involvement and create an overwhelming spatial experience, often separating it from other works in the Avant-Garde cannon.
