Reading Reflection 1: Light and Space

Burnham’s and Clark’s article focused on how light was shown in the environment. They both emphasized how the environment helped the light to be more fickle. In Burham’s article, light art first aimed at emitting light in art. Light was used as a medium of expression. (Burnham, 286) Light was the main object in the light art. The change of color,  scale, and intensity of light was the main intention. “Increasingly pure energy and information seem to be the essences of art; all else is being dropped methodically by the wayside.” (Burnham, 311)

(These videos are filmed by myself)

In the summer break in 2023, I visited one of James Turrell’s (mentioned in Burnham’s article) artworks, “House of Light“, in Japan. We stayed there for a day and saw the different changes of light in the room and light out of the room. His artwork focus on the comparision and integration of natural light (sky) and artificial light.

In Clark’s article, artists focused more on the experience and feeling of the audience given by light. Sometimes, the audience is also part of the project.

(Photos from Michael Asher: There is Never Enough Time to Get Everything Said by Thomas Lawson)

Michael Asher loved to use the form of light and shadow. “Instead of the work’s being developed from and contingent upon existing material conditions, it was based on and developed by the use of preselected materials and principles.” (Clark, 48) He set the light and shadow through his design in advance and made the phenomenon in a certain way, like architecture.

However, in Schuld’s article, the emphasis was moved to the phenomenology of light and space. He gave the concept of “naturalizing the void”, which means “Light and Space art does not deal with light and space as media as much as it deals with the participating subject’s perceptual adjustment” (Schuld, 118) The focus was transferred from the light and space themselves to the whole atmosphere and the feelings that participants feel.

In later exploration about light and space, I hope I can try more possibilities in different combination and reflection of light itself and its performance in spaces, which may lead to different feelings of participants. In addition, the collision of natural light and artificial light which James Turrell usually uses inspired me a lot. Also, I am also interested in playing with light and shadow in an artful way. For example, seeing the light from different angles, there will be different patterns and different texture of light and shadow, which may mix together and constitute a sense of illusion.

Reference

Burnham, J. (1969). Light as Sculpture Medium from Beyond Modern Sculpture.