A&E

I can see clearly now the light is on

by Anna Purdy

Light-based artwork inspired by a South American way of life has been loaned to the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum.

From Aug. 6 to the end of 2011 the light sculpture installation "Uros House" will be shown at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum. The artist, Grimanesa Amorós, based Uros House on the indigenous peoples who live near her hometown of Lima, Peru. The pre-Incan Uros lived on manmade floating islands built out of reeds on Lake Titicaca. The Uro people still exist in this same area although less than a few thousand are left. This installation seeks to honor in modern replication what the Uro people achieved for hundreds of years. The LED lights controlled by a computer and manmade materials like steel, metal and polyethylene stand in for the earth, water and the reeds of the original Uro homes.

Uros House has been shown in Venice, Italy and most recently in Times Square.

Amorós is a multimedia, interdisciplinary artist who now lives in New York.

The University Art Museum on UL's campus at 710 E. Saint Mary Blvd. is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Closed on Sundays, Mondays and all major holidays.