Light has always been a subject of particular significance in works of art. Artists have manipulated light, as both a subject and a medium, to showcase rich shadows, highlights, depth, and symbolism. Contemporary American artist James Turrell aptly said, “Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation.”
Light first started to become a subject in 17th century Baroque Art. Caravaggio, the master of chiaroscuro, contrasted light and shadow to emulate charged atmospheres that had a profound influence on the new Baroque style. His influence can be seen in the works of Rubens and Rembrandt, who used chiaroscuro to heighten a dramatic depth in their masterpieces.
The invention of portable tubed paint in 1841 marked a shift in the use of light, as artists could be in direct presence of their subject and transfer the sunlight they perceived onto their canvases. It was from this invention that the Impressionist art movement was born in the 1860s, which further expanded artists’ approaches to light. Artists such as Monet and Renoir focused on accurately depicting light and its fluctuation over time and space. They played with sunlight, its color variations and its ability to emanate an endless array of rich shades in natural settings.
With the invention of the light bulb in 1879 came the potential for a new revolutionised way to use light as not just a subject but a medium. However, it wasn’t until several decades later in the 1930s that light was used in its purest form by Lazlo Moholy-Nagy. He is often considered to be the first artist to create an object-based light sculpture as part of the wildly imaginative Dada movement. He projected color and white light onto his sculpture, Light Prop for an Electric Stage (Light-Space Modulator), spurring a range of shadow effects as the piece rotated. His piece prompted future artists to take a new approach to Lumino kinetic art with an unforeseen medium: light. He showed that art can use light to convey emotion, conceptual thought, or make a statement; it transcends language.
From the Kinetic art movement stemmed the Minimalism movement. Minimalist artist Dan Flavin only created art with light after completing his Icon Series in 1968. He worked with fluorescent light tubes in a palette of hues including red, blue, green, pink, yellow, ultraviolet and four different whites, playing with light as it relates to sculpture, movement and various spaces.
The Light and Space Movement was spearheaded by artists living in Los Angeles in the 1960s. Artists like James Turrell, Eric Orr, Robert Irwin, Mary Corse, and Doug Wheeler worked by directing the flow of natural light, embedding artificial light within objects or architecture, or through playing with light with the use of transparent, translucent, or reflective materials. The focus of their work was to activate the viewer’s sensorial and psychological experience under specific conditions. Turell, who helped spread this movement worldwide, summed up its philosophy with the words, “We eat light, drink it in through our skins.”
Today, many artists continue to use light itself as art. Light art, is seen in multiple media forms, including sculpture, installation, and performance. Artists employ color, angles, and shadows to create light art. This form of artwork is more ubiquitous than one might think, as neon signs, holographic projections, abstract light fixtures and light sculptures are abundant in most urban areas.
The use of light in art spans movements and manifests itself in different forms. The mere fact that the light around us dictates shape and form we perceive is enough to justify the importance of learning how it has been manipulated and represented over time. Modern artists like Grimanesa Amorós, Jim Campbell, Maja Petrić, Olafur Eliasson, and others have incorporated new technology to play on the age-old fascination humans have with art and light. Through experimentation with different hues and shapes, as well as intertwining light with materials like glass tubes and aluminum, light art challenges the way we perceive things around us — our environment, spaces, and people. Light’s universal existence is what makes it compelling, and it will undoubtedly continue to shape the work of artists for centuries to come.
