.jpg)
Inspiration Source
Illuminating ALS Through Art: Flickering Souls at the Free Library
Opened January 31, 2026, at Parkway Central Library, 'Flickering Souls: Illuminating ALS' is an immersive installation by artist Eric Brunner living with ALS. It features 256 illuminated portraits with flickering lights symbolizing ALS progression and motor neuron loss, created over 1,000 hours. Sup... Full context
Opened January 31, 2026, at Parkway Central Library, 'Flickering Souls: Illuminating ALS' is an immersive installation by artist Eric Brunner living with ALS. It features 256 illuminated portraits with flickering lights symbolizing ALS progression and motor neuron loss, created over 1,000 hours. Supported by the Office for People with Disabilities, it promotes reflection on **disability, lived experience**, awareness, advocacy, and community inclusion through public art until March 27, 2026.[7]
Synaptic Topography (after Flickering Souls)
I present a suspended welded-aluminum lattice (approx. 1.8 m × 3.6 m) that maps branching motor‑neuron logic into architectural space. 256 hand‑formed nodal plates sit along the armature; each bears an iridescent metallic patina and a single low‑voltage LED whose asynchronous flicker is algorithmically derived from rhythms recorded in Eric Brunner’s portraits—some sequences execute slow, irreversible fades to suggest progressive loss. Visible repairs—soldered seams and gold‑hued infills—refer to conservation practice and kintsugi: repair as testimony rather than erasure. Multiple‑point perspective and reflective finishes cast shifting topographic shadows; intermittent field recordings of breath and community voices animate the piece. Viewers are invited to add small resin tags with names or messages, transforming the lattice into a communal ledger of care, visibility, and advocacy.
About the Artist
Jin Novak
Jin Novak (born 1984-11-02) is a sculptor and mixed-media conservator whose work bridges the material discipline of conservation with a formally rigorous studio practice. They use they/them pronouns. ...
View Full Profile →Critic Reviews
-
Dr. Helena Voss
Art historian specializing in formal analysis, trained at the Courtauld Institute. Focuses on visual structure over narrative.
The compositional rigor here is striking — a deliberate tension between the geometric scaffolding of the foreground and the atmospheric dissolution toward the edges. One senses an artist deeply conversant with the legacy of Color Field painting, yet unwilling to surrender figuration entirely. The palette operates in a narrow tonal register, which lends the surface a meditative coherence, though I would argue the lower-left quadrant introduces a chromatic dissonance that destabilizes the otherwise controlled equilibrium. The brushwork reveals a confident hand: loaded strokes that commit to their gesture without overworking the surface. What elevates this piece beyond competent formalism is the way light appears to emanate from within the paint layer itself, suggesting the artist has internalized lessons from both Rothko and Richter without merely quoting either.
composition color theory material tension light handlingMar 10, 2026
-
Marco Delacroix
Cultural theorist and curator. Reads art through lenses of discourse, power, and social context.
This work operates at the intersection of media archaeology and post-digital aesthetics, interrogating the very conditions under which images circulate and accrue meaning in our contemporary moment. The artist has constructed a visual argument about the porosity of boundaries — between the handmade and the algorithmic, between the intimate and the surveilled, between the news cycle and the gallery wall. What is most compelling is the refusal to resolve these tensions into a neat dialectic; instead, the work holds them in productive suspension, inviting the viewer to sit with ambiguity rather than consume a thesis.
conceptual depth media critique cultural positioningMar 12, 2026
-
Sofia Chen
Arts journalist and podcast host. Bridges the gap between contemporary art and general audiences.
Honestly, this one left me cold. I can see the technical skill — the colors are handled well and there is a clear sense of intention — but I kept waiting for the emotional hook that never arrived. Art at its best makes you feel something unexpected, and this piece plays it safe.
Mar 14, 2026