, a lover of math and science since childhood and architecture graduate, never thought he would one day call himself an artist. However, he found success by combining his architecture and engineering background with an artistic vision that utilizes light, color, and music.
Ethen says while growing up in Kentwood, near Grand Rapids, he didnβt have any role models who were successful artists. This caused him to resist using the term βartistβ to describe himself for the first seven years of his work. But now, he proudly calls himself a light artist.
βWhat I do, itβs kind of architecture, itβs kind of engineering, itβs kind of design. Iβm just right in the middle of all these things,β says Ethen.Μύ
Ethen began to transition from his scientific aspirations to creating art after participating in the festival in Grand Rapids. He says this set him apart from other architecture students and sent him down a path toward more artistic pursuits.
Installation art exhibits, sometimes called environments, often take up an entire room, and can typically be walked through or around to maximize interaction between the viewer and the work. These installations are often temporary, able to be disassembled and moved, but can sometimes be permanent.Μύ
Ethenβs work uses sculpture and light, often paired with music, to give each viewer the opportunity to form their own interpretations and experience something unique.Μύ
βThe goal is not to provide meaning, the goal is to provide experiences,β says Ethen. βPeople like the idea of βThe work is about this,β but itβs an oversimplification.β
βItβs like looking at a campfire, where youβre just observing, and youβre open to color and youβre open to light,β Ethen adds. βItβs the same reason why a sunset is good, why a campfire is good, why itβs good to watch the ocean waves. Because it doesnβt repeat itself, because itβs always new, itβs always moving.βΜύ
Ethen has three permanent works in Detroit, one in San Diego, and one in Boston, but most of his installations are temporary and can be found in Detroitβs underground music scene, particularly electronic music.Μύ
Ethen has done work for electronic music festival and has a long history working with Texture, a pop-up music event that provides an audio-spatial experience.Μύ
βMy aesthetic is really future forward, and electronic music was made as the music of the future, so I think thereβs a great pairing with the work there,β says Ethen. βAll over the world people look to Detroit because they know us for our music scene. Weβre a major exporter of culture via music.βΜύ
βI know my work has had an impact on the city, at the very least, in the music scene,β adds Ethen, noting that he is the only person in the midwest doing this kind of work.
Reflecting on why he creates this type of art, Ethen says he tells a story from his childhood.Μύ
βGrowing up, my dad had a corporate job, and he would take two weeks off of work every Christmas, not to go on vacation, but to literally put up 35,000 Christmas lights on our house every year.β Ethen explains.Μύ
βOur house had a six-foot star at the top,β he continues. βAnyone who didnβt know me, Iβd be like, βOh, well you know that house with the star on the top?β Thatβs how you get to my house.β
βIt was always this question for my family. We love it, tour buses come by the house, but why does dad do it? I donβt even think that he knows. And all my friends are like, βOh, you do lights because your dad put up Christmas lights on your house,β and Iβm like, βNo, thatβs not why I do lights.ββ
βI think the reason I do lights and my dad does lights are the same reason, and that is that, other people like it, and itβs important to do stuff for other people,β he adds. βI think focusing on joy is just the most powerful way of fighting for what you believe in.β
Learn more about Patrick Ethen and his work at . Plus, find even more stories about metro Detroitβs art scene at hourdetroit.com.Μύ
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