Light Space Body
What is the relationship between light and space in public, private and religious spaces and how does it influence how we move through it?
Blythe Aislinn de Gruchy
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Design and Society Research
I chose to link my question to ‘Design and Society’ as I feel that the although there is a process involved I want to focus more on the impact of the design choices and how they influence how we percieve a space. I intend to start by exploring the relationship light has to public, private and religious spaces. I am only interested in how light effects interior spaces, specifically galleries such as Anish Kapoor’s work opposite. The ‘body’ element of my exploration interests me in particular as a space empty of human presence where only light fills the space is very different to a space with a solitary figure or a crowded room. I want to look at the constant absence and presence of light in a space and how and why it changes physically and psychologically.
Anish Kapoor - Her Blood
Rationalising the Question
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What is the relationship between space, light and body? Specifically,how do they work together to create an experience or to guide an experience? Where do they become dischordant and when can this be useful or obstructive? If you take away or change one element, how does this change the experience? Which artists have investigated this? How can this information be used in a non ‘fine art’ context? How can it bed used for design? These are just a few of the first initial questions that have come to mind around this topic. The question and the relationship between these elements has so much relevence to current design and will continue to be relevent, possibly even to a greater extent than it is now.
The area I’m exploring is vast and reports could be written on any one of the three elements alone. My main aim throughout my research is to find an even more specific viewpoint. At the moment I want to keep it broad so as not to narrow down the options too soon. In the short space of time I’ve had to work on my question I haven’t yet found a specific report comparing the three elements I hope to consider which is exciting as I would assume this means it is relatively untouched. I have found it easier at the moment to find artists who deal with light and space over designers. I hope to find some designers throughout the process to broaden the investigation.
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Do Ho Suh Research
‘The space I’m interested in is not only a physical one, but an intangible, metaphorical, and psychological one’ - Do Ho Suh Do Ho Suh’s work revolves around the idea of cultural displacement and working with transitional spaces such as bridges, doorways or in this case, a staircase. His work is one of the most interesting to me in spatial design. He works with sheer fabrics and constructs them in ways that allow transparency and opacity at the same time which is similar to and controlled by the absence and presence of light. The ‘body’ element of my interest is shown opposite in the two photographs. Without the presence of the figure the work could be any scale from the size of a shoe box to a football stadium for example. The figure also changes how you percieve the light, when the light is the only presence it’s importance is appreciated and undistorted.
Do Ho Suh - Staircase III
Art Light Space
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Michael Heizer - North, East, South, West
Antony Gormley - Blind Light
BuckleyGray Yeoman - Fred Perry Store Design, Stratford City
User Audience Demographic
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The research I am going to undertake for this project will be of interest to Curators, Exhibition Designers, Spatial Designers and Visual Merchandisers. Last summer I took an intensive course in Visual Merchandising and Space Management which sparked my initial interest in this area of design. Why will this information be of interest? So far in what I have read there is little comparison between the three elements of light, space and body. The research I am going to do will explore how the coercive methods used in Visual Merchandising to force someone through a space in a particular way are used, if at all in a gallery space. It will explore the absence and presenece of light and it’s perception in a space with or without people and how it compares. It will explore how we can make these three elements a tangible and usable thing and create dialogue between these design fields.
SHOW Studio Shop
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The first step in my process will be using my internship at SHOWstudio’s Shop space to see how these elements come into play in small environment and work as a shop and a gallery at the same time. During my time there I will be working alongside curators, exhibition designers and graphic designers and will be able to not only observe how they work with the space but also interview them. I will be able to see what is considered in the change of exhibition and how the space can be rearranged.
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Summarised Key Findings So far
‘The space I’m interested in is not only a physical one, but an intangible, metaphorical, and psychological one’ - Do Ho Suh There seems to be some conflict between Curators and Exhibition Designers as to how exhibitions should be set up. ‘So how do Kapoor’s sculptures affect the viewer? He makes us feel the physicality of materials, recalling our earliest experiences and the psychological states associated with them. It is as if Kapoor wants to lead us out of the gallery, lifting us from the confines of the space to connect us to the fundamental elements of life itself: smell, sound, colour, light and dark, all of which evoke a physical response’ Royal Academy of Arts - An Introduction to the Exhibition for Teachers and Students
Light, Space and Body seem to seamlessly interlink with each other yet one element taken out changes it entirely. An exhibition in darkness of half light as obvious as it sounds will influence the experience on a dramatic scale. Change the space, make the space smaller or much larger and once again out perception changes.
Body Space
Light
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Plan Of Action July - Sept:
Intern at SHOWstudio Shop Visit at least 3 exhibitions Interview Curators and visual merchandisers Photograph gallery spaces Reading
September: Set up a test exhibition or work with a small gallery as a mini case study Organise Research October:
Plan out structure of the report Plan out the first design ideas Write Introduction Write out a rough draft
November:
Write out the first draft in full Have a more complete final design for how the report will look
December:
Amendments Final design done
January:
Final Amendments Print Hand In
Methodolgy and References
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A Starting point for my research, no doubt this list, especially the references, will expand dramatically. Intern at a gallery (SHOWstudio Shop) Interview Curators Interview Visual Merchandisers Visit 3 or 4 exhibitions Photograph, draw and write up exhibitions Set up or work with a gallery / specific exhibition
London College of Fashion Visual Merchandising and Space Management Intensive Handbook 2012 When Art Meets Space, When Space Meets Art Victionary, 2007 Exhibition Design David Dernie, WW Norton `and Company, 2006 James Turrell: Geometry of Light: Geometrie des Lichts Hatje Cantz; 2009
Reading
Anish Kapoor: Flashback Hayward Gallery Publishing, 2011
Surveys if necessary to clarify or explore findings
Light Perspectives Martin Karcher, ERCO, 2009
Avoid mundane methods, use more experimental methods after the basics have been covered.
http://artsy.net/gene/light-and-spacemovement http://static.royalacademy.org. uk/files/anish-kapoor-educationguide-558.pdf http://www.guggenheim.org/newyork/exhibitions/on-view/james-turrell