In the corner of his office is a photograph of what seems to be a pink high-back chair, possibly a mangled box and strings coming down from the ceiling like vines. This, all in front of a gray wall in what seems to be an anything-but-natural scene in a tiny square room.
‘See that string? That was in the film," said David Haxton, UCF School of Visual Arts and Design professor.
Haxton's artistic film, Painting Room Lights, is presented at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., in a collection that opened in December titled "Watch This! New Directions in the Art of the Moving Image."
The exhibition celebrates artists whose work has transformed video into a contemporary art practice. Haxton said that it will be part of a larger display focused on "art of the moving image."
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is the nation's first collection of American art and represents more than 7,000 artists and a variety of collections.
Like his photograph with the string, Haxton's photographs and films do not show stories, according to Haxton.
"I was interested in creating a photograph that was just about the photographic space itself; there's no real-world stuff in it," Haxton said. "Everything in the photograph I put in it, and it was to describe the space and the light."
It is light that is the core of his artworks, and the five films he made that were recently acquired by Smithsonian.
"It's what creates a photograph, isn't it?" Haxton said.
These films are Bringing Lights Forward, Vertical and Receding Lines, Painting Lights, Landscape and Room, Painting Room Lights and Drawing Houses.
Painting Room Lights will be on view indefinitely, while the others should be on view for about a year, Haxton said.
The professor has been making art films since 1969. He studied at the University of South Florida before eventually moving to New York, where he worked as a professional artist for more than 20 years.
Haxton, whose work has also been displayed at other museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, got the opportunity when the Smithsonian contacted him about acquiring his films for the new display.
He created most of his artworks during the 1970s.
"Back in those days, I was fairly well known as a filmmaker," Haxton said.
After New York, he came to UCF in 1995 to teach computer animation.
"I got burned out on the art world," Haxton said, citing the pressures of having shows and dealing with collectors and dealers.
He now teaches photography classes and said he enjoys teaching because of the interaction with his students. He believes that he can teach his students not only about the process of creating art, but also about how to get their art recognized.
One of Haxton's advanced photography students, senior photography major Michelle Davis, believes that Haxton's professional background helps prepare students for careers as artists.
"It's something we don't get in other classes," Davis said.
One of his former students, Alana Slutsky, said Haxton's work is not what one may expect.
"He is very soft spoken, but his work is very vibrant," Slutsky said.
Haxton's students are proud of his achievement of having his work displayed at the Smithsonian. Sophomore photography major Chris Wolfe called it "exciting." Davis said she is jealous.
"Hopefully I'll be there someday," Davis said.
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