Although Corpron photographed seriously for fewer than 20 years, this period of focused experimentation yielded six distinct series that each developed from a different approach to light, the central theme of her photographic career. This image is from her series Light Patterns, which was influenced by her mentor György Kepes, who in 1944 brought experimental ideas from Chicago’s Institute of Design to Denton, Texas, where Corpron lived and taught.

Kepes suggested that Corpron try using a light box, and she took his advice, shining flashlights and light bulbs through holes in a 2-by-3-foot box with light-modulating forms inside (mostly shapes cut out of white paper). She spent hours experimenting before making a single photograph, observing the effects of brightness, angle, and reflection within her controlled space. The results, like Bisymmetric Design, deliver beautiful but disorienting compositions that blend reality and optical illusion.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)