And it’s true. All of Dial’s paintings are 3-D so they present lighting challenges your average still life wouldn’t; but this exhibition makes no claims of being average and Carol has been doing lighting for 13 years. In fact, nearly every single light throughout the IMA galleries has been personally screwed-in by Carol Cody—that’s a lot of bulbs.

Dial’s show alone has around 500 fixtures. These lamps are chosen and adjusted after the pieces have been installed, giving it a final touch. Every light has a filter and Carol layers screens over lamps to dim them. She is part of the process from the beginning. The Lighting Designer has to collaborate with everyone else on the exhibition to “tell the story” as best as possible.

Carol took expert care in washing warm light into the room filled with work depicting the Southern Past. Bright light further excites Dial’s tributes to African American Yard Art and the creative spirit. Dimmer lamps kept the mood of the drawings room more restful. “I angled the light at the floor, with the light wood you get a lot of bounce and that way it doesn’t affect the art as much.”

Light exposure can degrade a piece of art, that’s why it’s regulated so closely and why you can’t take flash photography in a museum. Part of Carol’s job is understanding the conservation issues surrounding a work. The most difficult things to light are textiles and paper, because they’re more delicate and can fade. The easiest things to light are objects, especially stone or metal, which are hardier.

The role of lighting, as I understand, is to best display the message that is already being communicated. It takes care, precision and an aerial lift. Carol designs the lighting, as well as maintains it. With 10,000 square feet in the special exhibitions space alone, it’s a big job. But she keeps us out of the dark one bulb at a time.

While examining the model I was guided by David Russick, the IMA’s Chief Designer. He’s one of the many people who put in countless hours to facilitate the connection between art and the viewer—a rigorous labor of love. It changes for each exhibition, but generally, the planning begins 12-14 months in advance. The model is necessary because the museum doesn’t use the same gallery layout over and over, far from it. “It’s like at the zoo,” explains Russick, “you know what animal you’re putting in the cage. You build the best environment for that animal.”

The gallery is completely redesigned; walls knocked down, moved, rebuilt and re-colored. My mother went through 27 color swatches before we finally painted our kitchen “French Pastry”–I couldn’t imagine what a gallery goes through. “Color is infinite; it could be the hardest thing we deal with,” explained Russick. All of the lighting changes as well. Dial’s work is largely 3-D, so it casts shadows on itself, a lighting director’s challenge/opportunity/nightmare. Every light’s type and position is represented on the model and they are painstakingly adjusted to best suit the works.

Miniature Art of Alabama

Some people are too afraid or disinterested to attend museums. They think, as Russick puts it, “Museums are for someone else.” Museum-non-goers could feel unwelcome. “But for years we’ve been saying, ‘Please come visit us! Just come one time—you won’t be intimidated.” And, as I now see, there’s a legion of people whose job is solely to make the museum as approachable and welcoming as possible. They do everything possible to display art the best it can be displayed. We want /need people to come and endless hours are put into making sure anyone would be glad they did. We can put on the best exhibition in the galaxy but, as Russick says, “If there is no one here to hear it, we don’t make a sound.”

The Mpozi mural at Spin in Broad Ripple gets solar lighting. Photo by @Muirwoody

Here is a video, produced by IndyStar, documenting the making of the mural dedicated to Mpozi Tolbert. Much more after the jump…

More on Mpozi Tolbert from around the web:

• Mpozi Tolbert OkayPlayer Slideshow – A moving slideshow of photograhps by Mpozi.
• We Miss Mpozi Celebration – “Come celebrate the giant dred”, an event on facebook.
• Photographer Tolbert Left a Lasting Impression – NPR radio snippet.
• Mpozi Mshale Tolbert 1972-2006 – Brian Jones pays homage on his blog.
• Mpozi Remembered – Philadelphia City Paper article
• Recent Mpozi mentions on Twitter
• Click here to download the entire classic Mpozi Dub mix from Crush Entertainment
• DJ Indiana Jones’ “Give Thanks 2007 Mpozi Tribute” mixtape
• Past IMOCA exhibition “Photographs, the work of Mpozi Mshale Tolbert (1972-2006)“

This quote from an article in NUVO (2008) sums up the kind of guy he was nicely:

He wasn’t a black man; he wasn’t a DJ; he wasn’t a photographer; he was an everybody kind of guy,” said DJ LeahAnne. “He could talk to a farmer in Putnam County or a guy in a business suit. The city will miss him because that persona was a good presence. He was one of those people you’ll never, ever forget.”