Lewis de Soto (American, born 1954)
Shadow, 1995

Run Time: 2:13
Recorded by Mia Farrell, Museum Educator / April 2020

Shadow by Lewis de Soto is at once one of the most massive and unassuming works in the Des Moines Center’s collection. The outdoor installation is a rectangular field measuring 25 x 128 ft. stretching beneath and through a corridor connecting the oldest wing of the museum to the newest, linking the past to the present.

Looking out the windows and down at Shadow you see the entire space spread edge to edge with black, rough and glossy anthracite coal, commonly known as black or hard coal, a mineral that has been mined and burned for domestic fuel for over 1000 years.

This single material provides deep color and texture to the landscape marking its boundary, defining it as a sculpture. A humble piece of work in many ways Shadow is rich in thoughtful intent. It was created for Lewis de Soto’s 1995 solo exhibition, titled Four Interventions. Where deSoto, a San Bernardino California native of Cahuilla ancestry, installed 4 site-specific works in the Des Moines Art Center that reflected, revealed, and honored the land and the history of Des Moines, Iowa. Shadow is the only installation that remains.

Beginning his art career as a photographer de Soto has used myriad materials and modalities to explore social histories. His works include large scale manipulations, performance art and even concept cars as sculpture, opening ideas and conversations acknowledging the rift between the land and its stories.

With Shadow de Soto is echoing Des Moines past identity, a coal mining town for almost 100 years, ending in 1947 a year before the opening of the Des Moines Art Center in 1948. A past that may feel distant and in many ways forgotten or simply never learned. Shadow, a title referencing time, quietly asks us who we are. It runs like a vein through our important structures, wise to the truth that history, though intangible, is foundational.