Jim Campbell's Gloriously Low-Res Light Art

We live in a high resolution world. Just take, for example, a 4K television. This modern marvel of technology can display around 8 million pixels on its screen, compared with the measly 2 million we got with the regular HD variety. Or walk through Times Square, where you’ll see a giant Coca-Cola sign made from 2.6 […]

We live in a high resolution world. Just take, for example, a 4K television. This modern marvel of technology can display around 8 million pixels on its screen, compared with the measly 2 million we got with the regular HD variety. Or walk through Times Square, where you’ll see a giant Coca-Cola sign made from 2.6 million glowing LEDs. It's overwhelming.

Jim Campbell prefers a lower-resolution life. The San Francisco artist is known for his ultra-low-res pieces of video art, which he’s been creating for more than 30 years. In a recently opened show at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York City, Campbell showcases a series of new works, all of which function within a modestly pixelated realm of anywhere from 200 to 2,000 pixels.

This sounds technical, and in a sense it is. But Campbell's work reaches a more basic place than that. In a time where artists and filmmakers are applauded for pushing the boundaries of technology, Campbell is content to do more with less, and it’s to spectacular effect. His low-res approach strips away the fine detail of the moving image, which, he explains to Creators Project, is intentional: "It forces you to focus on the movement and the shapes and the forms," he says. "I’m more interested in kind of rhythm of light than the perception, if you will, of the details of the image itself."

In that way, looking at Campbell’s work is a lot like replaying a memory in your mind. You grasp the feeling, the shape of what’s being projected, but the detail is elusive. This is most evident in Campbell’s Home Movies, a series of LED grids that project an anonymous home video onto a wall. In between the grid of hardware, you see the light bouncing off the wall’s surface, essentially projecting a hazy version of the video being played.

Campbell is adept at turning what's often considered a 2-D medium into a 3-D surface experience. In Topography Reconstruction Wave the light shimmers through a layer of resin constructed to mimic the undulating shape of an ocean wave. While another piece dangles from the ceiling projecting footage Campbell shot at Grand Central Station of commuters walking every which way rendered into a blurry, pixelated video.

Much of Campbell’s technology is invisible. Each piece relies on an intricately designed circuit board that dictates how the screens and lights interact with one another. Small details -- like how many inches will sit between each pixel -- can greatly change the way our eyes perceive the movement he’s created. It’s proof that technology doesn’t have to be spoon fed to us in order to be impactful. Or as he puts it, “Light is a meta thing. There’s something magical about working with it.”

Jim Campbell’s work will be on display at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery until April 19.