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Photography by Sarah Christianson

Reconstructed Memory

Jim Campbell’s work relies on the LED (light emitting diode)—one of the light sources that is redefining our era—to replicate an event in real time or evoke the fleeting recollection lodged in memory. Drawing from his foundation in engineering and film, Campbell’s work adds the element of time to the experiential concerns of space, light, and art explored by his predecessors in light sculpture. In Reconstructed Memory, Campbell explores the fleeting quality of memory immortalized through the magic of technology. Where other artists use words, sound, and static image, Campbell transforms the transient into the reproducible through his technological mastery and understanding of the vagaries of personal memory, time, and space.

ArtistJim Campbell(b. 1956)
Date2012
MediumCustom electronics, 192 RGB LEDs, and cast resin screen
Dimensions11 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (29.2 x 38.7 x 16.5 cm)
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2011.58
ClassificationSculpture
Provenancepurchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2012
On ViewNo
Reconstructed Memory11.5 × 15.3 in.Tennis Ball2.7 in. diameter

This artwork's face covers about 24× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.