Martin Reinhart, Noor Stenfert Kroese, Tanja Traxler and Virgil Widrich
Drawn by the light
Light is a fascinating phenomenon that has been studied and researched in both the fields of art and science over the centuries
and for a number of reasons. In the field of art, light is an essential element that defines and shapes any aspect of visual
representation. Using light, artists in all disciplines can create atmospheres and emotions or even use pure light as the
very material for their artwork. In the sciences, light is studied for its properties and behaviour and is used in a variety
of fields, such as physics, astronomy and biology, to substantially understand the nature of the universe and the world around
us. Furthermore, light also has a distinct metaphorical connotation that strongly and often unconsciously influences our thinking
and moral judgement.
From ancient times to the present, from philosophers to quantum physicists, nothing has so perplexed, so fascinated and so
captivated the human mind as the definition of light. For the ancient civilizations the nature of light was clear: it simply
was the gaze of God. In the hands of the ancient Greeks, light had become the luminous inner fire whose ethereal effluence
brought sight. In our contemporary world of modern quantum physics, science plays the greatest part in our theories of light's
origin. But despite all the theories that have been developed so far, the true nature of light remains elusive. Is it a wave
or a particle? Does it exist only when it is being observed, as some interpretations of quantum mechanics suggest? These are
questions that have yet to be fully answered, and they continue to captivate the minds of scientists and philosophers alike.
In the fine arts, too, the study and use of light has been central throughout all epochs and cultures. Western painters like
William Turner or Claude Monet were interested in capturing the fleeting effects of light, while others like Artemisia Gentileschi
used it to create dramatic contrasts and highlight specific elements of their compositions. But light as such is also used
as medium in art to create immersive experiences: Dan Flavin, a pioneer in the field, worked with fluorescent light, creating
colourful and sculptural installations that transformed the spaces they were exhibited in. Brigitte Kowanz, Austrian artist
and former Professor at Angewandte, explored the relationship between language and light, while James Turrell is known for
installations using natural daylight.
Photography is based on the knowledge of the sensitivity of certain chemical substances to light and revolutionised the depiction
of reality in the middle of the 19th century. The subsequent development of film and television would have been unthinkable
without this foundation. But light is not only an essential factor in the media and performing arts from a technical point
of view – the use of light in stage design and lighting design can completely transform a performance space and like also
in film, lighting is used to create atmosphere, convey emotion, and draw the eye to specific parts of the action. Light is
also an important element in architecture and design, used to create spaces that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and
energy efficient. The way that light falls on a building or interior space can completely change the way it is experienced,
and it is an essential element in creating a sense of place.
In his 1933 essay “Praise of Shadows” Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki condemns the European habit of wanting to illuminate
everything down to the last corner and wishes for the semi-darkness of the old Japanese culture to return. He thus touches
on an aspect of Western cultural history in which light and brightness were often associated with insight and righteousness.
This connotation applies both to thinking about visual perception, whose physiological processes remain misunderstood for
a long time, and to the idea of knowledge, as manifested, for example, in the concept of enlightenment. Later, these philosophical
and moral categories were adopted as part of the bourgeois canon of values and public lighting was instrumentalized as a means
of surveillance. Artificial lighting also served as a motor for industrialisation and became an essential factor in capitalist
value creation. Those who avoided the light, so the common opinion went, were ignorant, work-shy or had something to hide.
Thus, light also takes on an ideological and even political significance, which finds one disturbing climax in the “cathedrals
of light” of the National Socialists or counter-tales like those about vampires and other creatures of the night.
In the natural sciences, light possesses a peculiar double nature: it is both a necessary requisite for scientific investigation
and also an object of research. As such, the very question “What is light?” was the starting point for the development of
quantum physics in the early 20th century. Since then, light has served as the prime example for the wave-particle duality
and thus provides key insights for the understanding of the material world. Optical phenomena involving the interaction of
light with matter such as reflection and diffraction proved important as a metaphor for thinking as feminist science studies
(e.g. Donna Haraway, Karen Barad) have highlighted. Thus, phenomena involving light inform our ways of thinking.
From basic research to numerous concrete applications, an arc can be drawn that leaves no area of life and no field of human
research and creativity untouched. In the academic year 2023/24, we want to explore some of these aspects in more detail and
engage with cooperation partners from a wide range of disciplines and fields. These investigations will in turn provide the
basis for artistic exploration and concrete work with light as a medium of expression.
Some further reading:
Haroche, Serge (2022): The Science of Light: From Galileo’s Telescope to Quantum Physics, Odile Jacob.
Schivelbusch, Wolfgang (1995 [1983]) . Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century. University
of California Press.
Tanizaki, Jun'ichirō (1977 [1933]). In Praise of Shadows. Leetes Island Books.
Zajonc, Arthur (1995). Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind. Oxford University Press.
