Visual clues in light. A Talk by Keith Bradshaw and Telli Nourkeyhani from Speirs + Major (original) (raw)
Related papers
What can pictorial artifacts teach us about light and lightness?1
Japanese Psychological Research, 2011
The virtual collection of human pictorial artifacts represents a treasure for vision scientists: they are not only a showcase of possible -even if often improbable -visual experiences, but also a showcase of visual indexes and information employed by the visual system to generate our phenomenal world. In this work, we address three possible lessons that can be derived from the study of pictorial artifacts, related to the experiences of light and achromatic surface color. The first addresses the definitions of the words lightness and brightness; the second lesson is about the interactions between light and lightness; the third is about the visual experience of light and how artists managed to represent such experiences.
On light in photography; light as a tool of contemporary storytellers
THESIS MA PHOTOGRAPHY LONDON COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION, 2005
Throughout my research, I have come to realize that a systematic research on the various ways light has been used in photography has not been undertaken yet. There are a number of books that deal with the practical issues of studio or location lighting, night and low-light photography and how to create attractive wedding or children’s’ portraits, but I haven’t come across a single book that deals with the theoretical and aesthetic issues that play a role in the way our perception of light and photography have been in continuous interplay since the invention of the medium. On the other hand, the uses of light in painting and cinematography have been the subject of numerous books some of which have been useful for the writing of this essay, since the way we view photographs within our ‘modern ocularcentrism’ has been shaped by a long tradition in art. Obviously such a vast and multifaceted subject requires much more time and resources than the ones I have had in my disposal; therefore I have only been able to examine it in a way that is far more superficial than I would have wished. I have -reluctantly- concentrated on the use of light in the work of four photographers who are the leading contemporary representatives in the area of photographic practice (...) often described as tableau or tableau-vivant photography . I have chosen this particular genre, often referred to as ‘constructed’ or ‘staged’ photography not only because it relates to my own practice but more significantly because the elements depicted (…) are worked out in advance and drawn together to articulate a preconceived idea for the creation of the image and therefore the light has been pre-determined by the photographer. I am interested in tracing down the ways in which this choice has been informed and shaped as light is one of the key elements –arguably the most important- that help us ‘read’ a picture, greatly influencing its mood and creating possible associations in the mind of the viewer.
Aspects of light: Colour, light and space/form/time
2011
AIC Midterm Meeting 2011, Zurich – Interaction of Colour & Light in the Arts and Sciences – Proceedings ‘Colour-as-light’, activated as a ‘natural light’ phenomenon within architectural space/ form/time, helps us to see, both physically/literally and virtually/conceptually, the sunlight that moves within our buildings, through daily and yearly cycles. It reveals sensory information, both material (reflectivity/absorption) and immaterial (shadows/ephemeral glow). It showcases natural light as a ‘living’, ‘breathing’, moving environmental element with rich potential for linking human urban experience to the natural world/cosmos.
The Senses and Society Light Art, Perception, and Sensation
The Senses and Society, 2015
ABSTRACT In this article, I focus on how four artists working with light can reveal the different capacities of illumination and darkness in shaping human apprehension of the world. These artists, I contend, foreground the very particular human ways in which the visual system operates in making sense of the world, for their work explores the different ways in which we sense space at various scales, from the body to the landscape. In Kielder Forest, Northumberland, a Skyspace, created by James Turrell isolates the qualities of daylight and focuses attention on the impact of the sky’s light on the landscape. Carlos Cruz-Diez’s Chromosaturation highlights the ocular perception and emotional experience of colour, while Olafur Eliasson’s Model for a Timeless Garden highlights the temporality of visual perception as well as the persistence of notions about the sublime to appreciation of landscape. Both works underscore the partialities of specifically human ways of perception. Finally, Tino Seghal’s This Variation investigates the impact of darkness on the perception of space and its potential for fostering conviviality and sociality.
Tracing the Light. A performance essay on space, light and the process of looking.
Contemporary Performance Lighting, 2022
A blacked-out room. The floor is marked out with white tape: a rectangle, between 3 and 5 metres long, divided into four smaller rectangles. A further line extends out from the middle of one short side. From overhead, tightly shuttered lights pick out the tape lines without lighting the remainder of the floor. The light beams are invisible in the air, and the tape seems to glow of its own accord. To one side, a table, carrying several viewfinders, each comprising a piece of clear Perspex the size of an A4 sheet of paper, with a handle to hold it by. Traces is an interactive light installation by Nick Hunt and Hansjörg Schmidt, initially created for the Performing Light symposium at the University of Leeds in 2017. Since its initial appearance in Leeds, Traces has been recreated in a variety of forms, changing in scale and technical implementation, and in some instantiations including a performer/dancer as a surrogate participant. Arising from the Library of Light project at Rose Bruford College, Traces began as a response to the challenge of capturing and archiving light's role in the experience of seeing. As it has developed, Traces has become an artistic work in its own right, as well as an action-research investigation.
Light and Colour in the Built Environment
2017
In the Book of Genesis there is a dramatic change in the world when God says: Fiat Lux (Let there be light)! Chaos was ended. In our everyday life when we hear a noise while asleep at night, we are afraid because there is no light, and if there is no light we don’t see anything, i.e., we do not know. When we turn on the light, everything around us gets organized: light ends the chaos of darkness. In fact, we rely more than 80% on our sight sense to bring us what is happening around us. Light is the genesis of visual perception, and colour is its vehicle. We understand the world around us by the organization of colour stimuli received by our eyes, transmitted to our brain and interpreted there. We can say that colour is the form of space because it is through colour that we perceive the limits and the forms of our environment. Therefore, colour should be studied, together with light, its origin, as the main actor in space perception, and therefore in architecture. With these assumpti...
ON LIGHT – AND THE FLUX OF INFORMATIVE EVENTS IN NATURE AND TECHNOLOGIES
The aim of this paper is to make a thought experiment, that investigates the possible relation between light and human knowledge. I will present a syncretic approach in which I address the subject from several angles, that extend from the explanations of physical science into the aesthetic communication of technoetic art, and philosophical speculation. I will relate the idea of light as part of a constant electromagnetic, dynamic exchange (Richard Feynmann) at the quantum level of nature, to the Space Resonance Theory of Milo Wolf (2008). Light is, according to Wolf, a sign of energy exchange. It is closely tied to typical wave behaviour (oscillation, resonance, frequency adjustment, etc.), and characterized by being in constant process. The energy exchange (involving absorption and emission of light by electrons) can, combined with the idea of enfolded and outfolded orders of physicist David Bohm (1980), be seen as an act of communication, that happens at many scales of spacetime, and which forms a possible connection between realms of “the virtually real” (not the digital virtual) and the “real real”. I will relate my theoretical observations to readings of two technoetic artworks: “Phototrophy” (1997) by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, in which a flashlight is the navigation tool that connects the real world of the user with the digital virtual, evolutionary A-life scenario of the screen projection. I will primarily focus upon the symbolic levels of this work. “Speed of Light” (exhibited in London, April, 2010) by the London based artist collaborative, UVA, stages a different use of light. “Speed of Light” has been designed to let users become acquainted with the fiberoptic technologies used in broadband Internet connections. It involves a set of installations that address the relation between artificial light, communication technologies and user interactions. The setup in an empty warehouse stages a relation between light, communication and space that can – besides from letting users physically experience their own interference with light, be examined for its appeal to higher-order levels of contemplation. Kathrine Anker will connect these observations with particular elements of the biophysical theory of Mae Wan Ho (2003), that are concerned with properties of biophotons in the living organism.
Lighting design is closely intertwined with the built environment. Magical illuminations of nighttime environments and inspired, lit interiors enchant. Our memories are imprinted with indelible impressions of light. They may be of permanent installations or temporary displays, ranging from simple projections to entire festivals. High aspirations of quality for public spaces, be it a temporary attraction or a lasting work, always transcend the ordinary experience and turn it into a memorable event. The spiritual quality of light elevates the illuminated space to a higher plane, setting the tone for culture realized at its highest potential.