Primary Research
LIGHT
Lighting design is a branch of science and art that connects the space and user by using light sources.
It is a science because we have scientific data on the effects of light on us physically and psychologically.
It is a branch of art because design lies within it, so it can be defined by some norms that are subjective and aesthetic.
"Feeling better"
The main task of lighting design is to make you feel good. Scientific researches have shown that better planned lighting design has positive effects on learning processes in educational institutions, productivity in offices and recovery times in hospital.
( I started with these photographs because I realized a single light, thousand of shadows can completely change an area)
The Various Properties Of Light
Source : “Absorption, Reflection, and Refraction of Light.” Autodesk Support & Learning, https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya-lt/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/MayaLT/files/BoL-Absorption-reflection-and-refraction-of-light-htm.html.
King's Cross
At the first day of the week, I observed a lot of different places which are related to our topic. I took these photos because when I looked them, I find different terms and concepts.
(The roof part impressed me, "Geometry".)
(This column separated the two areas.)
(There were light refractions.)
(A large area is seen in two different ways.)
( After taking the photos, I realized architects are using a lot of geometric shapes and benefit from the light and shadows.)
Video 1
King's Cross Station
KING'S CROSS STATION / LEWIS CUBITT
He was an English civil engineer and architect. He built King's Cross railway and also London Bridge Railway Station etc.
As part of the ongoing redevelopment of the adjoining railway lands, now known as King's Cross Central, a granary designed by Cubitt has been refurbished as the main campus facility for Central Saint Martins, a constituent college of the University of the Arts London.
“The transformation of King's Cross station by John McAslan + Partners"
The transformation of King’s Cross Station for Network Rail involves three very different styles of architecture: re-use, restoration and new build.
- The Western Range at King's Cross is the historic station’s biggest component, accommodating a wide range of uses. The Northern Wing, destroyed by bombing in World War II, has been rebuilt to its original design.
Shadow Maker
SHADOW MAKER BY STEPHEN KITE (BOOK)
"The making of shadows is an act as old as architecture itself. From the gloom of the medieval hearth through to the masterworks of modernism, shadows have been an essential yet neglected presence in architectural history."
I chose this book because I wanted to focus on the shadow concept in architecture. I read "Shadow Studies" part, It was about the use of shadows and the history of shadows in architecture. I learned, the shadows are materials for architecture but at the same time author says that "The shades and shadows of architectural objects are architectural things, not mathematical things. They are architectural entities. Consequently these masses and shapes of dark must be as carefully considered in the study of design as are columns or entablatures, or other masses."
In short, after reading the book, I learned that shadows are part of architecture because it reveals the key places . In the past, I didn't think shadows were so important. However, I was surprised to learn that architects did this on purpose.
Tim Noble & Sue Webster’s British Rubbish / Kumi Yamashita's Light & Shadow series
Tim Noble & Sue Webster’s British Rubbish
I researched about Tim Noble and Sue Webster's "British Rubbish" artwork because they create shadow art by bringing together the garbage they collect and adding the reflection of light to it. My last research, which was the "Shadow-maker" reminded me, Shadows Art and also I researched about Kumi Yamashita's Light & Shadow series because she is creating artworks by using shadow games too.
"Ever since their first solo show in London, entitled British Rubbish, in 1996, Tim and Sue have managed to take ordinary things, usually discarded objects and scraps, and transform them into recognizable images through the use of projected shadows."
Resource:
Tan, Katrina. “Tim Noble & Sue Webster's British Rubbish.” Trendland Online Magazine Curating the Web since 2006, 21 Jan. 2012, https://trendland.com/tim-noble-sue-websters-british-rubbish/.
Kumi Yamashita's Light & Shadow series
"New York City-based Japanese artist Kumi Yamashita casts light on seemingly-random objects to create surprising shadow art. At first glance, her work may appear to be the silhouettes of people, but look closer and they are actually an assortment of wood blocks, fabrics, sheets of paper or aluminum and stainless steel plates attached to walls, which she shines a strategically-placed light on at just the right angle, thereby transforming simple, everyday items into extraordinary art. Perspective and imagination being key, the display may appear haphazard and chaotic at first, but every piece plays an important part, whose combined shadows produce unexpected results."
Resource :
Mun-Delsalle, Y-Jean. “Kumi Yamashita Plays with Shadows to Create Art.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 Apr. 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/yjeanmundelsalle/2015/04/25/kumi-yamashita-plays-with-shadows-to-create-art/#62edf34273ed.
Rashad Alakbarov
Rashad Alakbarov
After the "British Rubbish" artwork, I realized light reflection is as important as shadows so I decided to do research about the reflection of light.
Rashad Alakbarov works with different media, including painting, sculpture, theatre decorations, video art and architectural design. The use of shadows in his installation became the main direction in the artist's conceptual work.
"Objects, either diverse or homogenous, are arranged in such a manner that shadows cast on the wall under proper lighting have little to do with the image of the initial installation. In this duality lies the magic of Alakbarov’s works. "
Resource:
Mun-Delsalle, Y-Jean. “Kumi Yamashita Plays with Shadows to Create Art.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 Apr. 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/yjeanmundelsalle/2015/04/25/kumi-yamashita-plays-with-shadows-to-create-art/#62edf34273ed.
Stephen Knapp / Yayoi Kusama
I researched about Stephen Knapp and Yayoi Kusama because these artists are using light and reflective materials in their works. Rashad Alakbarov's project reminded me concept of reflection so Knapp and Kusama's works are amazing example for the art of reflection. I want to move forward on this pathway.
STEPHEN KNAPP
Lightpaintings
In his light paintings Stephen Knapp creates destinations, a sense of place behind the lush colors and striking compositions underlies a serious exploration of space and dimension, light and color and perception that will forever change how we look at objects.
Lightpaintings are created by using a special glass treated with layers of metallic coatings that act as a selective prism to separate focused light into different wavelengths of the spectrum. Knapp cuts, shapes and polishes the glass in his studio to make a palette that he can use to refract and reflect light onto a surface and the surrounding space.
The resulting creation displays abstract art's affinity with music ; the relationship of form, space and color akin to those of melody, time signature and harmony. Light paintings are in fact symphonies of color.
( Stephen Knapp'S work reminded me Yayoi Kusama because she is using reflection too in her works.)
YAYOI KUSAMA
Infinity Mirror Rooms
Yayoi Kusama had a breakthrough in 1965 when she produced Infinity Mirror Room—Phalli’s Field. Using mirrors, she transformed the intense repetition of her earlier paintings and works on paper into a perceptual experience.
Over the course of her career, the artist has produced more than twenty distinct Infinity Mirror Rooms, and the Hirshhorn’s exhibition—the first to focus on this pioneering body of work—is presenting six of them, the most ever shown together. Ranging from peep-show-like chambers to multimedia installations, each of Kusama’s kaleidoscopic environments offers the chance to step into an illusion of infinite space. The rooms also provide an opportunity to examine the artist’s central themes, such as the celebration of life and its aftermath.
After this research, I decided to use led lights for my final outcome.
Catch as catch can / Daniel Buren
In Real Life / Exhibiton
Olafur Eliasson / In Real Life - TATE MODERN - EXHIBITION.
This week, I went to Tate Modern to visit the exhibition "In real life by Olafur Eliasson". The main theme of the exhibition was shadows and reflections. I observed a lot of different reflection techniques and materials, for example, he used range from moss, glacial melt-water, and fog, to light and reflective metals in his works. Eliasson’s art comes from three particularly important interests. These are: his concern with nature, honed through his time spent in Iceland; his research into geometry; and his ongoing investigations into how we perceive, feel about and shape the world around us. So he is using visitors like a part of the artworks. For example, In the "Your uncertain show", the shadows on the white wall shifted according to the movement of the visitor. This project impressed me a lot because you become part of a work and you have the opportunity to give direction to it. In the book I read earlier, I saw that shadows and architecture are intertwined and In this exhibition, I realized that this situation is like humans and shadows. Lastly, I learned reflection and shadows can be used in different ways.
Five coloured spotlights, directed at a white wall, are arranged in a line on the floor: a green light positioned next to another green light, followed by a magenta light, an orange light, and, finally, a blue light. These colours combine to illuminate the wall with a bright white light. When the visitor enters the space, her projected shadow, by blocking each coloured light from a slightly different angle, appears on the wall as an array of five differently coloured silhouettes.
In addition to the dark shadow created where all five lights are obstructed, the colours of the other shadows – one yellow, one violet, one cyan, and two magenta – reflect the properties of additive colour. As a visitor blocks light from the blue spotlight, for instance, the resultant shadow is lit by a combination of green, magenta, and orange lights, creating a yellow shadow. The overlap of the five silhouettes produces further hues. As visitors move about the space, passing closer to and farther away from the lights, the silhouettes shift in colour intensity and scale.
Dean Hawkes's sppech
Imagining Environments
IMAGINING ENVIRONMENTS - DEAN HAWKES
Dean Hawkes is a British architect and award-winning academic. In his speech, he mentioned the relationship between architecture and environment. But the part of the sunlight affected me a lot because he gave an quote like that "What precisely the Sun does your building ? The Sun never knew how great it was until its drop the side of a building "
Actually this quote explained everything,
- In architectural buildings, nothing is a coincidence.
- Why use artificial light when there is sunlight?
- Artificial light does not give the same effect as sunlight!
After this video, ı decided to change my 3D model's materials. I don't want to use led light , instead of it, I plan to use sunlight for reflection.
Philip K. Smith
1/4 Mile arc
After listening to DEAN HAWKES 'speech, I wanted to create reflection using a natural light source in my model so I focused on it. I wanted to examine this work of Philip K. Smith because it was similar to the work I wanted to do. In his work, He used natural light sources and a material that reflects the light.