the light fantastic

last night I learned about light art
.
it was absolutely fascinating, and I'd like to share it with you - there's a link at the bottom to the tv show. . .
.
. . .you know I don't really do tv, but this is worth the investment of your time - as it was mine
.
a glimpse:
.

JAMES TURRELL

his Skyspaces were something else -
if they look that good on tv,
they must be mind-blowing in real life;
here's an image:
.
which does nothing convey the wonder of the real thing;
not that I saw the real thing, but imagine it in 3D:
..
a huge room, blank walls and ceiling
lit by ever changing colours of clear light,
from an indefinable source,
with a space in a wall or the ceiling
thru which you view the sky
. ..
this is a series of images of one such Skyspace
altho the room is not lit by coloured light in this instance:
.

in one of the Skyspace installations shown,
the coloured lighting of the room gradually changed
thru the most beautiful hues; and
- the point of the exercise -
the, initially blue, sky seemed to changed colour*
.
it did so according to the "colour" of the room,
as the room, the walls/ceiling, the areas surrounding the spaces
- thru which we watch the sky -
changed

(*or at least that's how your brain interprets the visual image)


DAN FLAVIN

(he works with coloured fluorescent strip bulbs)
.
below, one of my favourite images:
the sun, painting itself on a canvas, as a series of burns
..
(the sun shines thru a huge lens onto a huge canvas,
over a period of hours)
(remember focusing the sun with a magnifying glass
onto pieces of paper [or ants, if you had cruel brothers]
when we were little? just like that - only bigger)
..
the gaps in the curves show you where the clouds came
and the splurgy bits are when conditions were moist. . .
(to be understood, it really needs to be viewed landscape,
I think,
not portrait)


CHARLES ROSS


there is another image I want to show you, by a British artist, one of the sunshine between the equinoxes as viewed from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. . . it wasn't in the show, I read about it in New Scientist the other week, but I can't recall the chap's name. . .

(imagine, on auntie beeb last night, here's the link for anyone with almost an hour to spare in the pursuit of enlightenment - it will be 50 minutes of your time very well spent, IMHO)

7 comments:

Ms Scarlet said...

I meant to watch that last night, but I think it's repeated. I thought they'd show the work of an artist who only paints shadows. He's brilliant, but for the life of me I can't remember his name... and that's going to bug me. I'll come back if I remember...
Sx

Mel said...

"BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only.."

Drat.

I, Like The View said...

mel try this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fm1vb

scarlet I'll look forward to that

Romeo Morningwood said...

Ooh fancy schmancy.
The Beeb link is only available in the UK...
pity.

Mel said...

Rawr.

"Sorry, this video is only available in the UK"

Rawrrr and ggrrrrr and stuff!!

(nice try though!)

Kate Lord Brown said...

Hello - found you through the lovely Miss Scarlet - thank you for the link (I was very very cross to have missed this) x

I, Like The View said...

hey kate

sad you missed the Imagine show - but hopefully you saw The South Bank Show on STW last night? I tried to leave this comment at your place, but didn't manage

I,LTV