Distortion and Fuzz Cause a Buzz in SF State's DesignSpace

Thursday, November 09, 2017

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS -- Light took an anthropological angle on the pedals as his knowledge about them developed. “Guitarists fetishize these pedals, in the sense that they’re viewed as mythical or powerful,” Light said. “They connect some people with their guitar gods.”

The mystique surrounding pedals is what led Light to focus his exhibit on “the guitar effects pedal as cultural artifact.” He wanted to show the history and diversity of guitar effects pedals, as well as the collecting obsession, which meant compiling a suitable collection of pedals and writing informative descriptions. Light said the most difficult part of the curation was securing all 63 pedals that ended up on display, most of which are borrowed directly from manufacturers.

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