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Columbia Tribune Article
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| Left: Executive Director of Ragtag Cinema Tracy Lane |
Greg Orloff
American, born 1988
Lumen
Found-object assemblage sculpture, 2012
Commissioned by Ragtag Cinema and gifted to the City of Columbia, 2013
When I look at an object, whether it is a kitchen tool, a typewriter, or
an automotive component, I see beyond its original function and imagine a new
purpose. I have always been curious about how things work, the thought
processes of the inventor, and the history of human kind’s desire to construct.
As an artist, I feed upon the ideas, products and solutions of a past history
of engineering and design. Just as my predecessors have done, I implement the
process of innovation; the recycling of ideas and materials taps into my desire
to understand not only how something works, but also how inventions have directly
influenced culture and history.
Lumen is a robot sculpture made of found
objects, which was commissioned by Ragtag Cinema, a non-profit organization
that champions independent films in Columbia. With the end of 35mm film production
in Hollywood comes the era of mandatory digital projection. It is a moment that
prompted Ragtag Cinema to address whether it should convert its traditional film
projectors to digital, or ultimately be forced to limit releases to films
produced with older technology. To garner support for the new projectors, Lumen became the central icon in the
cinema’s fundraising campaign, “Ragtag Needs Robots.” In just over a month, the
theater successfully raised the funding required to convert to all-digital
projectors.
Lumen’s purpose represents more than that of a mascot;
it embodies the cumulative efforts of an entire community with differing
backgrounds, experiences, educations, perspectives and lifestyles. Made up of
the dirty, broken-down discards of obsolete, forgotten technologies, Lumen stands as a shining beacon of
Columbia’s endeavors and successes—there is hope, no matter what the odds are,
as long as you have community.
