Anthony McCall is a British-born (1946)[1] American Avant-Garde artist, specializing in cinema/projected film.
McCall was a key figure in the avant-garde London Film-makers Co-operative in the 1970s and his earliest films are documents of outdoor performances that were notable for their minimal use of the elements, most notably fire.[2]
After moving to New York in 1973, McCall continued his fire performances and developed his ‘solid light’ film series, conceiving the Line Describing a Cone, in 1973. These works are simple projections that emphasise the sculptural qualities of a beam of light.[3]
At the end of the 1970s, McCall withdrew from making art. Over 20 years later, he acquired a new dynamic and re-opened his ‘solid light’ series, this time using digital projectors rather than 16mm film.[4]
In October 2009, McCall’s work was featured in a solo show opening at the Moderna Museet. This exhibition showcased Doubling Back (2003) as well as a light installation entitled You and I, Horizontal (2005). Also included in the show were a number of drawings illustrating varied motions of light waves, which the artist refers to as "scores" of his films.[5]
Later in 2009 he was awarded £500,000 from the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to create a work consisting of a column of steam in Birkenhead which will be visible up to 100 km away.[6]
He is the subject of the book Anthony McCall: The Solid Light Films and Related Works, edited by Christopher Eamon with contributions by Branden W. Joseph and Jonathan Walley.[7]
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Anthony studied graphic Design at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, Bromley, Kent, England in the late 60's and experimented with film during that time.