MOCAD’s winter exhibition is pretty epic! Joshua White and Gary Panter’s Light Show is a new exhibition organized especially for the Museum by two great pioneers of multimedia art, and it opens in February. White and Panter have been working together since the late 1990’s, and this exhibition is their largest collaborative project to date.

Occupying nearly all of the Museum’s 22,000 square foot area, this immersive installation features a “permanent” lightshow designed by White (of Woodstock and Fillmore East fame) that will be on view through the entirety of the exhibition’s run.  Panter, whose prolific output is most recognized in the set design for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, will construct a fun-house of his imagination, with both sculptural and lightshow elements. Bridging these two worlds is a historical corridor, filled with ephemera illuminating the long-running careers of these two old friends. Materials from the archives of both artists will be on display to illustrate the range and depth of their work.

As intended by White and Panter, the exhibition will serve as a platform for performances by guests working in a variety of media and disciplines, including musicians, video artists, comedians and engineers, who are invited to interact with the work and activate the space.

Gary Panter will be creating an original drawing that will be featured on flyers for the exhibition, as well as limited-edition posters that will be for sale in the MOCAD Store.

Joshua White and Gary Panter’s Light Show opens on Friday, February 10 with a public reception at 6 p.m.

Also opening on February 10 is the inaugural DEPE Space (Department of Education and Public Engagement) Residency featuring Chido Johnson, head of sculpture at the College for Creative Studies and a 2009 Kresge fellow. Johnson will be installing his “love library” -- a collection of artist-designed romance novels that will be on display during the month of February. Leading up to his Family Day on February 19, the installation of the love library will feature talks with library contributors, as well as a “love librarian” to discuss the project -- and, of course, love! -- with visitors.

With a promise of interactiveness and accessibility, we have high hopes that this season will draw an invigorated and lively audience into the Museum.