From Light to Space

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Westminster Council commissions a series of public art installations. Its latest addition questions the reality of public art and functionality.

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One kind of artists starts to create artworks without any real object during the continuous renewal process of art form and art conception. Light and dark, sunlight and shadow, time and space, sound and silence, fire, smoke ,scrim, and string were their original materials. Unlike a painting and sculpture that can be dated from the moment of its completion, these kind of works may have no beginning and end . Audience can enter the interior of these works, and freely choose the manner and angle to view and feel of the works, thus obtaining a very personalized view experience.

 

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From mid-1960s, a small cluster of artists began utilize abstract media like light to investigate space. As the representative of minimalism, Dan Flavin, he says a fluorescent lamp can show a space. Such artistic conception not only influences contemporary art, but also redefine the contemporary architecture. The work of light as a medium often deconstructed the physical reason of space itself and created a theatrical space. In this space, light, place, and the viewer create a new spatial relationship. This relationship is more about stimulating the viewer's experience of art works rather than explaining a specific concept to the viewer.

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At the same time, light has the ability to transform space, such as the actual space of a room may be disturbed by the lighting equipment. In Olafur Eliasson’s work Your Circular Perspective, 2015 .On a white screen, two semicircles rotate slowly, appearing to tilt as they turn, creating the

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Impression of a three-dimensional shape in space. The effect, however, is created by a beam of light cast through turning discs that remain stable in one constant, two-dimensional plane. A new virtual space is formed by using the light source to change the physical state of the space. This allows the viewer to focus on the immediate situation and forget the real world.

 

Today, light has become a popular media in Contemporary Art, because it not only can create invisible space but also can build a channel to connect the viewer and abstract psychedelic space. And public also enjoys the different perception experience which comes from different light works.

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Westminster City Council Promotes Transparency. However Its latest £1.2m commission has the public questioning the reality of council tax payments in a global city.

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Abmigous Story by: Livia    Photos: Unknown Sources