ARTIST ROBERT MONTGOMERY combines prose and large-scale installation to create his signature “light poems,” pieces around the globe that challenge typical pedestrian experience. In 2015, Montgomery made his Seattle debut with The Stars Pulled Down for Real, a twenty-foot-tall sculpture made of LED lights and material typically used for scaffolding and billboards. The same piece marks the artist’s introduction to Oklahoma and the latest outdoor installation at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. The grandeur of Montgomery’s readable work comes partly from scale and partly from the spectacle of an illuminated message floating in air or affixed to the side of a building. Born in Scotland and residing in London, Montgomery shape-shifts with an environmental context, bold sans-serif typography, sharp letterform ascenders, and a natural gift for language.
Of this particular work, Montgomery says the text nods to modernist poet Ezra Pound, who wrote about his view from a New York City window: “Squares after squares of flame, set and cut into the Aether. Here is our poetry, for we have pulled down the stars to our will.” The allure of Montgomery’s literary cheekiness and affection for the impact of all caps seem to connect to viewers, whether the context is clear or not, like the universal but eerily specific advice from a palm reader. In a found-poetry approach, Montgomery writes messages into our environment that seem personal, inviting us to affirm that, yes, this is a sign.
Robert Montgomery’s The Stars Pulled Down for Real (2015) is on view at Campbell Art Park through April 12, 2021.