‘Light Symphony, No. 1’: A Kinetic Pictorial Artwork with Light

Leonardo, Vol. 14, pp. 38-40. Pergamon Press, 1981. Printed in Great Britain. ILIGHT SYMPHONY, NO.1': A KINETIC PICTORIAL ARTWORK WITH LIGHT P. K. Hoenich* 1. A kinetic pictorial artwork that I have recently made with the projection of reflected sunlight or strong electric light I cal1 'Light Symphony, No.1'. The changing reflection images produced on an opaque surface can be, in my view, taken as symbolizing aspects of the universe, of human existence and of present-day technology. The images may be varied either automatical1y [1-4] or manual1y by an operator in a way analogous to music produced on an instrument by a musician. A vast number of image variations can be projected continuously during a performance. The images of 'Light Symphony, No. l' are seen on a 43 x 65em surface, but a very large surface with an appropriately enlarged projection system could be made for public viewing in a city centre or on a mountain top that tourists frequent. I strongly support the idea that in an industrial society visual artists should employ, as they see fit, technological developments, for example, cinema, video, television and digital computers. There are now many developments open to artists, but I think that only those should be chosen that can be applied artistical1y at low cost and that can be maintained and repaired easily. Automatic control devices are available for operating some kinds of kinetic works designed to produce continuously varying displays over long periods of time. But I am particularly interested in pictorial kinetic artworks involving viewer participation , which is the case of 'Light Symphony, No. 1', since, as I shall point out, the motion of light from a source can be carried out manual1y by means of a hand-held mirror (reflecting sunlight) or an electric light source. 2. In general, the type of system used in my work consists of an arrangement of light reflectors, most of which are curved and distorted mirror surfaces, and glass prisms that produce a variety of patterns in spectral colours. Light may be directed from several directions and passed through colour filters before striking the reflectors. I use light sources in motion:The Sun, for example, can be used to provide a slowly moving source (automatic change) or a hand-held mirror can be used to direct sunlight from varying positions (manual change). Also an electric light source can be mounted on supports designed to provide a desired type of motion. •Artist, Faculty of Architecture, Technion, Haifa, Israel. (Received 16 Nov. 1979) 38 Fig. 1. The Robot Projector System and an image from 'Light Symphony, No. 1', kinetic pictorial artwork, dimensions of image 43 x 65 em, 1979. My Robot Projector cal1ed 'Light Symphony, No. r resembles a framed picture mounted on an easel on wheels (Fig. 1); it is closed in front by a plate of transparent Perspex. Four straight lines have been painted on the plate; three are in thin transparent colours (yel1ow, blue and red), and one is an opaque black band. These lines serve a decorative purpose when there are no projected light images. However, the black line, which is strongly visible during a projection , accentuates the motion of the images. At a distance of about eight centimetres behind the transparent Perspex plate is the opaque mat white surface on which the images of light patterns are projected. Figure 2 shows the inside of the Robot Projector. (The back, consisting of the white surface and the colour filters, has been removed and is not shown.) The transparent Perspex plate can be seen in position with its black band. There are a number of distorted mirrors mounted around the inside edge of the frame. They are made of glass, except for two that are made of metal- 'Light Symphony, No.1': A Kinetic PictorialArtwork with Light 39 Fig. 2. View of the inside of the Robot Projector for 'Light Symphony, No. 1'. lized plastic. There are two glass prisms, one on the left near the top and the other at the top near the centre. At the bottom centre is a flat mirror with the figure of a man scratched into the opaque white coating that...