Multiple Medium Light Sculptor Michael Millevolte
Nearly Four Decades of Observation, Experimentation and Creation:
For nearly four decades, I have explored the relationship between light, color, motion and human perception. My work grew from a lifelong habit of observation and a desire to create things that were not only beautiful, but different from anything I had seen before.
Working independently across more than ten different light generating mediums, I became particularly fascinated with "persistence of vision", combining physical movement, light and the human visual system to create images and geometries that do not exist outside of an individual's mind.
Many of my works resist accurate reproduction through photography or video. They are meant to be experienced directly by the observer.
Three Ways of Mixing Fluorescent Pigment Colors Applied By Hand:
Color creation has been a lifelong obsession of mine. I often struggle on deciding which color to apply next. Leaning upon my formal studies with regard to color theory at the University of Wisconsin, I developed three distinct approaches to mixing color within my UV blacklight-reactive and motion creations:
1] Traditional pigment [Lefranc & Bourgeois Fluorescent Flashe RGB] color mixing and distinct formulas utilizing only their three primary colors.
2] Mechanical color mixing through high-speed motion.
3] UV blacklight reactive mixing through transparent overlapping or layered fluorescent rotating surfaces, matrixes, and tapestries.
Ultraviolet blacklight eventually became my core medium, often manipulating hand-painted fluorescent color pigments and motion to interact in ways conventional pigment illumination can not.
My path has never followed a conventional art-world trajectory. I have worked from storefront windows, restaurants, nightclubs, festivals, private residences and unconventional spaces, designing and assembling the mechanisms behind the work myself with my core audience being everyday ordinary citizens of all walks of life.
Along the way, I received two U.S. patents for my inventions and continued developing new ways of producing visual phenomena through relatively simple to complex mechanical means.
Meticulously Handcrafted and Engineered to Last:
Many people can create a one-off experiment. My goal has always been different. I currently design kinetic works for sustained operation over years of use. No more cassette player mechanisms or VCR parts. Those days are long gone. My preferred method of mechanical motion has settled upon creating matrices and tapestries assembled with decades lasting underdriven computer fans. By underdriving them heat and wear is reduced to a minimum.
Durability and structurally sound design are integral parts of my process. Mechanical motion devices with integrated motors, robust bearings, and other moving components are selected and operated with great consideration to minimize heat, wear, fatigue, and mechanical stress. Everything is built for the long term and must be structurally sound.
The goal is simple. Once a final version of a piece is up and running, I want myself and others to be able to enjoy it, not work on it.
Underlying all of it is an idea that has interested me from the beginning: the difference between physical reality and observational reality. An object can remain physically unchanged while speed, light, motion and the conditions of observation fundamentally alter what we perceive. My current core focus has been the creation of a wide assortment of table top light creations and sculptures that are well suited for smaller spaces, particularly my studio on wheels, a spacious and personally restored 2003 Four Winds Hurricane motorhome:
