Anthony McCall: First Light

The exhibition presents Line Describing a Cone (1973), Conical Solid (1974), and Cone of Variable Volume (1974), works that invite viewers to step away from the screen and into the sculptural beams of projected light themselves. As theatrical haze catches the projector’s light, evolving geometric forms materialize in three-dimensional space, creating elegant structures that viewers can walk through, touch, and interact with. Over the course of their 30-minute durations, these works transform spectators into participants and galleries into playing fields, making space for both contemplation and action. The works begin as film animations. In Line Describing a Cone, the longest piece of the show at 30 minutes, a single white point extends into a slowly curving line, building to a full circle across its running time. The 10-minute Conical Solid (1974) projects a flat blade of light that rotates from a fixed central axis at varying speeds. The Cone of Variable Volume shifts the size of a complete circle across four movements, one of which, McCall notes, builds “so that it resembles a very slow breathing.” McCall developed these works after relocating from London to New York City in 1973, seeking to create what he described as a “film that could exist only in the moment of projection with an audience, without reference to an ‘elsewhere.’” The solid light works emerged at the intersection of avant-garde cinema, Minimalism, and Structural Film, while also anticipating parallel movements in expanded cinema, participatory performance, and today’s immersive video installations. Anthony McCall: First Light continues a partnership initiated in 2015-16 with Janet Cardiff’s Forty-Part Motet, through an ongoing collaboration among the Kramlich Art Foundation and Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture. LIVE MUSIC: “THE FIRST LIGHT SESSIONS” – #1 Sunday, February 1, 2026 – 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm Gallery 308 FREE to $60 sliding scale (reserve in advance) In conjunction with Fort Mason Art’s current exhibition, Anthony McCall: First Light, three notable Bay Area musicians perform live in the gallery, improvising in response to the solid light works on view. As visitors move through the space, touching and interacting with the cones of projected light, they immerse themselves in these cinematic sculptures and the live music, journeying through and creating their own perspectives of sight and sound. The program is modeled on “Four Simultaneous Soloists,” a music series organized by David Grubbs for a previous McCall exhibition. “The First Light Sessions – #2” will be performed on Saturday, March 7, 2026, 3:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m. with a different roster of musicians to be announced.