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Finding the Light

Outdoor Art Installation

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Just off the path toward the E. L. Wiegand Ponderosa Playscape stands a monolithic sculpture. Made of steel and colored acrylic and standing 20-feet tall at its highest, Finding the Light is abstract geometric forms that, as the light moves across the sky, turn into a “cathedral” of light.

Finding the Light was created by Bend artist Kevin Necessary in 2024. At the heart of this piece is the idea of congregation – a gathering of individuals drawn to light and shadow. As the sun rises and sets, the colors from the stained glass and the monoliths’ long shadows converge on the ground, transforming the open landscape into a shared, sacred space.

“It’s a place where viewers congregate in the shadows, bathed in colored light,” said Necessary.  

The monolithic sculpture stands out among its natural surroundings along the playscape trail. Visitors walking the trail will be mesmerized by the colors and the ever-changing light display.

Visitors are encouraged to walk up to the sculpture, experience the colorful shadows up close, and find the light as the sun crosses the sky.

In 2024, Necessary made the trek to the desert playa in Nevada on his way to take part in Burning Man, an annual arts migration of monumental scale. During Burning Man, an interactive expanse of nearly 4,000 acres becomes Black Rock City, the third-largest city in Nevada for one week. Set among the playa, Finding the Light captured the desert sun and the landscape among the towering, inspiring and interactive arts city.

Burning Man was the focus of a 2020 exhibition at the Museum, Infinite Moment: Burning Man on the Horizon, which explored the art and culture of the storied event. That exhibition was the impetus to connect with Necessary and bring Finding the Light to the Museum.

Experience Finding the Light in person and watch as the shadows and colors elongate and change, dancing in and around the ponderosa pines and desert soil.