Catamount Arts is pleased to present Flights of Fancy, an exhibition of kinetic sculpture by the late artist David A. Lang, on view from February 27-April 13, 2019 . Featuring interactive pieces set off by motion detectors when closely inspected by viewers, this exhibition explores the whimsical, yet serious nature of an artist who preferred to describe his efforts as “accidentally profound.”
Cunning wit and word play define much of the work. Wrapture presents an invisible body encased in a straight jacket with paper wings flapping above where a head should be. First Strike, a tongue in cheek reference to military action, features tiny American flags on match heads moving back and forth above a strip of sandpaper. Perhaps the most poignant works reference classical mythology. The well-worn boots in Odysseus and the wheeled contraption in Daedalus signify a creative journey, while gently flapping paper wings express flights of imagination that both amuse and inspire.
Although Lang’s creative output was cut tragically short when his car collided with a deer in 2017, he enjoyed a long and successful career as both artist and educator. With an undergraduate degree in biology and a graduate degree in medical illustration from Harvard Medical School, Lang was employed as a scientific illustrator in Harvard’s chemistry department before joining the art faculty at the Middlesex School in Concord, MA. The recipient of a 2010 Puffin Foundation grant and other awards, Lang also exhibited widely at numerous venues, including the Attleboro Museum of Art, Babson and Bentley Colleges, Clark University, Danforth Art, and the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. His monumental sculpture The Question Is the Answer is currently showcased on the grounds at the Fuller Craft Museum as part of its permanent collection.
Credit: Photograph of David Lang by John Burke.