I first met Diana Thater in June at the opening of the Watershed, the Boston Institute for Contemporary Art's cavernous new project space facing the Boston Harbor. The ICA launched the venue, once an industrial metal facility, with a career-spanning selection of Thater's work. It was my first opportunity to encounter these architecturally transformative video installations in person. Immersed in a luminous sweep of the color spectrum, Thater's meditative images of natural phenomena left a strong visceral impression. The following interview took place on the last day of July at her home studio in Pasadena, CA with Thater vibrantly reaching for video excerpts, books, slideshows, and ephemera to illustrate the conversation.
Rail: You’ve shown your work in East Coast galleries regularly since the early ’90s, but your show at the ICA Boston is your first expansive institutional exhibition in the area in some time. I was surprised to discover that you were raised on the East Coast, on Long Island. Did the show feel like a homecoming for you?