Anthony McCall

Anthony McCall is a British-born (1946) American Avant-Garde artist who specializes in cinema and projected film.

A key figure in the avant-garde London Film-makers Co-operative of the 70s, his earliest films are documents of outdoor performances notable for their minimal use of the elements, e.g. fire.

After moving to New York in 1973, McCall continued his fire performances and developed his ‘solid light’ film series (e.g. Line Describing a Cone, 1973). These works are simple projections that emphasise the sculptural qualities of a beam of light.

At the end of the 1970s, McCall withdrew from making art. Over 20 years later he re-opened his ‘solid light’ series, this time using digital projectors rather than 16mm film.

"Line Describing a Cone" (1973) is described best as "one of the simplest, most elegant and most effective ideas ever committed to film. Starting with a dot at the bottom of the frame, a single line is drawn on the screen, taking the 30-minute running time to form a complete circle. Meanwhile, in the fogged room, the same line gradually forms a cone, with the base of the cone at the screen and the apex at the projector lens. The screen functions mostly to "tell the time" of the movie -- one need only note how much of the circle is there to tell how much of the movie is left. It is the space in between the projector and the screen that is most important -- in this space, the audience moves about, interacting with the cone of light and moving along the beam to get different perspectives...."- Andy Ditzler, 2005

In October 2009, McCall’s work was featured in a solo show opening at the Moderna Museet. This exhibition showcased Doubling Back (2003) as well as a light installation entitled You and I, Horizontal (2005). Also included in the show were a number of drawings illustrating varied motions of light waves, which the artist refers to as "scores" of his films.

Later in 2009 he was awarded £500,000 from the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to create a work consisting of a column of steam in Birkenhead which will be visible up to 100 km away.