By Gray Chapman
Contemporary artist Stephen Antonakos held a question and answer session on January 22 at the ACA Gallery of SCAD, where a collection of his work is currently on exhibition. Titled “Darkness and Light,” the exhibition features neon panels and serial drawings. The exhibition was guest-curated by Marshall Price, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Academy Museum. Antonakos and Price took questions from the audience in an open format before a celebratory reception in the gallery.
Antonakos, who was born in Greece in 1926, has spent the past four decades working with neon tubing in his abstract art. Though he has practiced art since childhood, he was first attracted to neon as a medium in the 1960s. According to Antonakos, he “discovered” neon on the exterior walls of New York City as he was walking through the Garment District at night. “Neon is a beautiful thing,” he said. “It has a beautiful color, and it can seduce the viewer into doing things you don’t necessarily want to do.”
This marks the second exhibition of Antonakos’ work at a SCAD campus; another collection of his work was installed at SCAD-Savannah in the Pei Ling Chan Gallery in Fall of 2008. Antonakos spoke about how different each space is, and consequently the differences in installation of his work.
“I have each individual work tell me where to put it—I don’t like having many works in one straight line,” he said.
In a recent interview with Erin Dziedzic, Curator of the SCAD Exhibitions Department, Antonakos emphasized the importance of space in relation to his work. “With both the panels and the drawings, siting them in relation to the given architecture and the space defined by this architecture is really a way of finishing the works,” he said. “I have often hung the units of drawings at different levels and with irregular spaces between the frames, because I wanted a certain rhythm, or a certain relationship to a wall’s proportions, or to a corner.”
After remarking on the large number of SCAD-Atlanta students present at the lecture, one guest asked both Antonakos and Price for “words of wisdom” for aspiring artists.
“Much to my great dismay, I’ve noticed art students rushing into success,” said Price. “Early success often stunts artistic growth. I think it’s very important to take the time to find your own mature artistic voice before rushing into success.” Antonakos emphasized the importance of believing in your work.
“You have to question yourself every day, so that you can believe in your work even when others question it. Analyze what you’re doing like you’re looking into a mirror each day.”
“Darkness and Light” will be on exhibition through Feb. 15, at the ACA Gallery of SCAD, located in the Woodruff Arts Center.
Photos courtesy of SCAD-Atlanta College Photography/Dane Sponberg