Ben Whitehouse invented a new type of art.

He makes 24-hour videos of places. These videos are shot every hour on the hour.

Whitehouse will discuss the use of light in his works of art during his presentation today.

Each of his 24-hour videos observes how light changes in that time period.

During one video, Whitehouse videotaped Central Park for 24-hours.

“I have good reasons based on my history and education of art,” Whitehouse said. “And Central Park is one of the most famous parks in the world.”

The process makes viewers feel as though they were at the place in the video.

“Whitehouse has a passion for submerging himself as well as the viewer in the all-encompassing experience of the natural landscape,” said John Brunetti, Whitehouse’s art dealer.

One of Whitehouse’s 24-hour videos, “North Bar Lake”, debuted on Times Square during New Year’s Eve.

“I love them all, if I’m going to do a piece, it has to be something I’m interested in,” Whitehouse said.

Whitehouse said he was inspired by the Impressionists.

They were the first artists to look outside and paint what they saw, said Whitehouse.

Just as the Impressionists used light, so does Whitehouse.

Whitehouse wants to build off of the type of art the Impressionists created.

“I want to take their work a little further,” Whitehouse said.

Besides the Impressionists, Whitehouse draws inspiration form nature to create paintings.

“Nature is my inspiration, I love this planet,” Whitehouse said. “I am interested in landscape experience.”

Art has always been part of his life.

“Art was there ever since I can remember, it started in my early childhood,” Whitehouse said.

“When I was about four-years-old I remember showing my father a painting I had done in the manner of Paul Klee, a famous painter with the Blaue Reiter movement in the early 20th century,” Whitehouse said.

He said that planning is the most important aspect of his art.

“Planning is everything. It takes months to plan a shoot and my paintings take up to a

year,” Whitehouse said.

Glenn Hild, chair of the art department, wants to see Whitehouse’s paintings because that’s an area Hild is interested in.

“I am interested in seeing how Whitehouse painted landscape forms because I am a painter,” Hild said.

Whitehouse will be at the Tarble Art Center today at 7 p.m. to give a lecture about his paintings and digital videos.

Ashley Mefford can be reached at 217-581-7942 or almefford@eiu.edu.

“Watch Over Time,” by Ben Whitehouse, is an oil painting composed of three panels. Each panel is a record of sunlight shifts as seen from a fixed location of sky. (Erica Jones/The Daily Eastern News)

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