‘Light Images’: An Installation and a Performance

Leonardo, Vol. 15. No. 4, pp. 291-293, 1982 Printed in Great Britain 0024-094X/82/04029 1-03%03.00/0 Pergamon Press Ltd. ‘LIGHT IMAGES’: AN INSTALLATION AND A PERFORMANCE Beth Galston” 1. Introduction ‘Light Images’ are formed by the interaction of skeletal and translucent constructions with controlled artificial illumination. ctive environments of light and shadow which They change are! an form multiple configurations. On a large scale, they invite people and movement, and extend the realm of sculpture into that of architecture and theater. This article traces the development of the project from small-scale models and experiments, to the installation and performance of a large-scale environmental light sculpture, and discusses future applications in theater, public art and architecture. 2. Research Research into ‘Light Images’ began in 1979 at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a small book of paper cutouts, consisting of drawings of brick walls with the bricks cut away, leaving a skeletal network of mortar patterns. Turningits pages, the viewer reveals a performance of shifting light and shadow images. One page of the book was enlarged to a 1.2 X 2.4 m screen of white foam core with cutouts in real brick scale. The screen was suspended and a moveable light source created changing shadows on the walls of the room. The light could be positioned so that object and shadow were distinct or so that it was difficult to distinguish the real from the shadow image. The area between the real and shadow wall formed an activated space, a passageway through which people could walk, merging their shadows with the shadow grids. Returning to the model stage, I developed two small environments: a stage set with layers of freestanding screensand a vertical book with skeletal brick pages and translucent projection screens as the cover. Lights from behind projected shadow images onto the translucent screens; as lights were moved from side to side and back to front, shadow pages appeared to be turning or rushing toward the viewer. On a larger scale, these environments could involve viewer participation and interaction. People would be able to turn the pages, walk between the screens,and improvise as their shadows were projected by timed sequences of lights. The piece, then, suggested a theater in which the audience would become part of the performance. I began building pages for a large book. The screens were constructed out of maple, which was cut intostrips ranging from 1.8 x 1.8 cm to 0.6 x 0.6 cm thick, notched, and then joined into panels of 1.8 x 2.4 m. There were seven panels, some in cinderblock scale (20.3 x 40.6 cm units) and some in brick scale (5.7 x 20.3cm units). They were hinged together in freestanding pairs and were left unfinished so their color stayed light, almost white. *Sculptor and Fellow at The Center for Advanced Visual Studies, M.I.T., Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. (Received 9 April 1982.) 3. Installation Installation became a process of constant change and improvisation. The screens were moved to a large room at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies which measures 10.5m long by 9 m wide by 7.5 m high, and is overlooked by an open loft area. The entire room, including the floor, was painted white, and when the piece was set up inthis space the concept changed: the book idea expanded to a looser, more environmental arrangement and all the surfaces of the room became projection ‘screens’. Pairs of hinged screens suggested corners or intersections of walls, and were arranged to create passageways. An opening or walkway invited the viewer to walk down the stairs. Other pairs of screens created a loosenetwork of enclosuresand pathways, a kind of open labyrinth. Light projecting through the screens created an imaginary shadow architecture, transforming the walls of the room into a monumental cityscape (Fig. 1). Through light and shadow, distinctions blurred. and the room became a total spatial environment. The quality of the light sources became central to the piece. After experimentation, the most effective lights were projectors and...