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Liquid Crystals in Painting and Sculpture
- Leonardo
- The MIT Press
- Volume 15, Number 4, Autumn 1982
- pp. 257-261
- Article
- Additional Information
Cholesleric liquid crystals are an exciting new medium for the visual arts. A review of the properties of free and encapsulated liquid crystals is given with emphasis on practical aspects of interest to artists. The increased color gamut and change of color with angle of viewing and ambient temperature are explained. It is shown to be possible to express several aspects or experiences of the the same theme as the angle of viewing or the temperature changes. In a sculpture or relief coated with liquid crystals, inclined planes and curved surfaces are accentuated by a shift in color, as they are seen from a more oblique angle than the surfaces facing the viewer. Unlike with pigments, a layer of liquid crystals is nearly transparent to white light. Only a narrow band of wavelength is reflected and it appears as a relatively pure and saturated color. A great range of color combinations can be created by superimposing two or more colored layers. As the colors of the liquid crystals add, as in the case for colored lights, they open up interesting possibilities for new artistic expression. Photographs of paintings and sculptures that illustrate the above effects are included.