Attracted to Light

About this book

Perhaps Nabokov prefigured Attracted to Light in his fictional four-volume set called The Butterflies and Moths of the Russian Empire in Fathers Butterflies: The illustrations are still more perfectthe downy velvety texture the blurry translucence of various families of moths are rendered so delicately you would be afraid to run your finger across the paper.... A sumptuously oversized and exquisitely produced book Attracted to Lightshowcases the Starns extensive conceptual portrait series of the nocturnal moths mysterious journey and the seeming gravitational force that light has over them captured in photographs and filmic video footage. Light necessitates darkness the shadow created by anything physical. But black is not only the lack of lightit is also the complete absorption of light. The void and reservoir of what we want what we need; light is power it is knowledge. When we look into the deep velvety black eyes of moths we see both emptiness and (the absorption of) light. No one understands why moths are attracted to light. Its neither to mate nor to eat: many moths dont eat at all; some dont even have mouths. Like butterflies moths are almost as light as air but theyre the poor stupid cousins. Choosing to live their lives at night flying from nowhere towards the end of their livesfragile dusty wings in tatters. A moth will bounce across a ceiling orbit a lamp fly into a flame or self-immolate like a Buddhist monk. Doug and Mike Starn