The Oil Celebration Chandelier is inspired by the economic sprawl and impact that the oil and fossil fuel industries have on Houston Texas and across the midwest of the US. In a land where everything is spread out and far apart and driving is the only way to get anywhere, the dependency on these fuels is essential. Working in the oil fields or trucking are two of the easiest ways to make a good living in Texas. These occupations are also good ways to suck up all your time, adversely affect your health as well as the health of the planet.
While living in Dallas, my studio landlord worked in the oil fields. As with anyone I knew that worked in that industry, he worked continuously for weeks at a time before having a few weeks off. During the time off, he had money to spend and would party around the clock. This life of excess is shared among not just the workers, but with the executives such as Aubrey McClendon, former owner of Chesapeake Energy. Known as one of America’s most reckless Billionaires, McClendon died in a high speed accident with his gas guzzling SUV.
This life of excess isn’t totally unwarranted. We are addicted to fossil fuels. The petrochemical industry seen around the sprawl of Houston is evidence of that. Some of the largest steel structures ever built are made to extract oil from the ocean as floating cities. The energy brings power, excess, and wealth sucked directly from the earth itself. Fracked out of the ground, its extraction becomes increasingly detrimental to the planet as this limited resource is depleted from a culture that has grown to depend on it.
With every day we are living off the remains of the dinosaurs, using the energy locked within them to propel ourselves forward. An unsustainable celebration that has moved us forward and defined our time.
Neon in the Wild is a collaboration between myself and Ali Feeney. We travel across the country bringing portable neon pieces with us to capture the beauty of natural landscapes. In the fall of 2018, we went to Palo Duro Canyon on a camping trip and were immediately inspired by the landscape and how light plays within the canyon land. Our world gives us so many beautiful landscapes and magnificent moments and this project aims to highlight not only the big picture, but also the little moments of mother nature. We see this work as a documentation of the place we visited and, that the neon functions as a highlighting frame that mimics the colors of the space around it. These photographs are remnants of an ephemeral moment in time, in a faraway place, just like our memories of our experiences. We also seek to document the human presence while leaving no trace of activity behind. This is important to the project as a way of protecting the environment from damage while offering the ability to be present and enjoy it. Documenting these moments in time, to share with others, is our goal and hopefully, have people walk away appreciating our world a little more than they had before.
I am currently fascinated with the idea of "The Wild One".
Fascinated by the notion of “The Wild One”, this series attempts to create the wildest sculptures and installation possible. Objects feature a visual and sensorial overload that becomes less intense over time. Wild One installations feature a blissful sensory overload, reflective of my life as a chronic overcommitter. The circuits in Wild One sculptures feature feedback loops among environmental inputs, bent electronic toy circuits and neon lights. No wires, screws or evidence of work is hidden.
A series of hot glass, theatrical performances investigating themes ranging from sports, to xenophobia, typically celebratory in nature.
Exhibitable Objects are a series of electrical sculptures designed to be exhibited as easily as a glass or ceramic vase. Utilizing electrical, acoustic, electromagnetic and vibratory waves, Exhibitable Objects are designed to push the limits of the crafted art object while remaining easy to store, ship and install. Each object in the series has its own conceptual underpinnings.
Titles: (in order of appearance)
Exhibitable Object C: Crude TV
Exhibitable Object D: Shake Machine
Exhibitable Object E: New Cinema
Exhibitable Object G: Cookie Dough, Sugar Rush
Inspired by the writings of Vilem Flusser, Return to Hieroglyphics is a series of electric lights that emulate electric screens. Written language started as images, cave drawings, and hieroglyphics before linear texts (books, written language). With the advent of the digital image, computers, smartphones, TV and the internet, the technical image has become more important. Increasingly, meaning is being derived from images, movies, memes, and emoticons with interest in books and linear texts waning. A return to hieroglyphics.
Neon, aluminum
2'x6'
2016
Caged play is a response to the overall lack of color and seriousness of many other artists work and the pressure by academic institutions and other contemporary artists to not use color and to create slick, well crafted work with a clean, minimalist, subdued aesthetic. Play is an essential part of an artist’s or designer’s work. Three dimensional examples of neon play in pursuit of every shape and every color are suspended in a cage that doubles as a protective shipping container, and dynamic display.
Neon, Dog Cage, Bungee rope
2'x
2015
The Artist would like to thank; Ali Feeney, Brian Riehl and the Chrysler Museum of Art for their support.
Hacking Sound and Vision is the result of more than two years of research and play with electricity at its basic level. It is the product of my Hacker Artist desire to put the power of modular synthesizers into the hands of the general passerby and to combine that power with spectacular visuals. By separating light and sound, some viewers experience immersive, flashing, colored light environments that trigger imaginary sounds, controlled by other viewers in another room who have real time control over real, electric, sounds.
The Artist would like to thank,
Chris Tolbert, Andrew Oesch, Barbara Lattanzi, Alfred REPO, Lily Montgomery, Sarah Blood
By creating simple, electronic synthesizers, and integrating molten glass into the circuit, the glass and tools used to work with it, become instruments.
James Akers
CMOS digital logic integrated circuits, capacitors, magnets, hot glass, MAX/MSP/Jitter. custom tools, performance, video editing
2015
The Laser Scanner is an homage to the universal pursuit of knowledge and the age old, human desire to know everything.
James Akers
Basswood, MDF, Steel, Lasers, neon, power supply, glass, hacked tape deck, arduino, stepper motor
2014
Color
Explosion
Dome
Earth
Lasers
Electric
Immersive
Vibrant
Wires
Modular
Laserbeam Explosion
2014
James Akers
Neon, Concrete, PC7
4 meters diameter
The Mobile Neon Manifold was created to bring neon to glass facilities across America and beyond. By introducing artists to electricity with a method familiar to them, (turning glass into neon/plasma art) they can become interested in electricity and neon.
The Mobile Manifold was created to be taken on the road! Bring it to you with a workshop or class!