Let there be Light

Taking a bit of time here to think about the different ways artists have used light in their work- focusing on  Christian Boltanski, Julie Mehretu,  Dan Flavin, James Turrell, J.M.W Turner, Francisco Goya and Rembrandt.


Christian Bollanski

'Theatre'

In 1986 Christian Bollanski began making assemblages of objects with light effects He chose items that were embedded with huge emotional power and staged them in books, collections, archives and exhibitions. These items were relics of the past. that explored memory, the artist's personal memories and beyond that to the history of humanity itself.



Julie Mehretu
Mehretu uses all types of imagery including comic books, graffitti, baroque engravings, japanese calligraphy. layered up to create a  kind of language of her own. The pieces are often on an enormous scale, yet with miniature details. These minute marks implying an  individual  story in an infinate universe. Her paintings and drawings reference mapping and respond to  to elements of space and light. 

Dan Flavin
Flavin utilises flourescent lights of varied lengths and colours to create unique light scultpures that  inhabit the space  in which they are installed. They wash walls with colour and although  abstract, they encompass an endless  range of emotion.

Francisco Goya
"I see only forms that are lit up and forms that are not. There is only light and shadow."

The innovative spanish 'Romantisim' painter used his areas  of light and dark to  encourage  the  viewer to respond to his imagery in  the way he wants us to.  Those who Goya believed were 'good'  were shown in  the light and them 'bad guys' were in the shade!


Michelangelo
Mikey famously mixed his colours with both black and white, to maximise the contrasts, achieving a vivid depth of  shading.


Rembrandt
The artist attracted  his  viewer's attention to key areas of composition with a strongly focused light source. He famously used  'chiarascuro'  to   add a certain depth, harmony and drama to his paintings.

James Turnell
Turnell is primarily concerned with light and space as a tool to explore man's place in the universe!
He descibes the response to viewing his light pieces as  "like the thoughts that come when looking into a fire"

J.M.W.Turner
We can't think about artists use of light without thinking about our Turner can we. He was obsessed  the science of light and colour, and  'wasn't known as 'The painter of light'  for nothing! Turner generally used a central light source in each of his paintings that enriched  the most beautiful, contemplative and acomplished landscape paintings of all time.