'Passages' of time
This is not artwork that viewers want to glance at quickly and keep moving.
Standing near one panel will trigger railroad lights to flicker. Stand in front of more three-dimensional pictures and see light bring a small piano, a bed or dining room table and chairs to focus.
And walk along more than 90 feet of artwork that borders the technology building and learning center at the College of Lake County will trigger sounds of birds, a train and a jet flying overhead.
"If you go quickly, you will trip a few things," said gallery curator Steve Jones. "But if you become more engaged with it and take some time, it's going to reveal more."
Created by Steve Waldeck and featuring sound and music composed by Peter Gena, "Passages" is the newest addition to the Grayslake college campus's permanent art collection.
The public is invited to the dedication of the art at 11 a.m. today at the college's library atrium.
The college features more than 400 pieces among its collection. But "Passages," Jones said, is a significant addition.
"We have paintings, sculptures, ceramics," he said. "We don't have anything electronic and interactive like this."
The project was funded by the Illinois Capital Development Board's art-in-architecture program and was included in the state funding for the CLC Technology Building, which opened in January 2005.
Waldeck said "Passages" evolved from living 35 years in northern Illinois. He noticed the transition from a rural area to the encroaching housing developments and strip malls.
In creating "Passages," the three-dimensional wall pieces center on exterior and interior scenes of an American gothic farmhouse and barns that recently were torn down.
Waldeck uses photographs as well as painting, lighting, motion and sound to create a realistic presence.
"I created something mundane but put it in a way never seen before, and it becomes something you carry with you," Waldeck said.
The music Gena chose to use in "Passages" is generated from a piece written by Charles Ives in the early 20th century -- the Alcotts movement of the Piano Sonata #2. It is a tribute to the famous transcendentalists of Concord, Mass.
The interior and exterior of the farmhouse are intertwined with a Beethoven motif and additional musical material, Gena writes on his Web site. Prolonged viewing of certain scenes will trigger additional phrases, creating a layered effect.
As he finishes all the technical aspects of the exhibit, Waldeck said people approach him at the college to tell him that looking at the panels reminds them of a farmhouse they saw as a child. Waldeck said that is exactly the reaction he wanted to hear.
"It will amplify with their own history and own experiences what was started by just viewing the piece," he said.
During fall and spring semesters, the gallery is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. Hours will vary during college breaks.