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Light at the end of the tunnel?
H
umanity’s dependency on being able to hold back the darkness is the catalyst for continuous global research into better, cheaper, and of course ever more efficient forms of light. And it appears that after all the hype surrounding the LED as the future, the boffins at MIT have made the next big discovery.
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THE TEAM Editor
Gill Anderson editor@tlmagazine.co.uk Design/production
Quentin Radburn artwork@tlmagazine.co.uk Web development manager
Prashanth Muthulingam prashanth.muthulingam@astongreenlake.com Managing director
Stuart McCreery
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According to research published in Journal Nature Nanotechnology, MIT’s researchers surrounded the filaments in traditional incandescent lamps with photonic-crystal emitters, which effectively reflect the heat back into the lamp to create more light. Luminous efficiency of 40 per cent has been forecast, which compares very favourably with LEDs at 14 per cent, and traditional fluorescent lamps at just five per cent. And with a CRI of 100 (the best LED can offer is around 80), it’s hoped we’ll once again see the lit world in the colours nature intended. Watch this space! Another busy month faces us as the industry gears up for Light + Building in Frankfurt. Whether it’s because the show only takes place every other year, or whether it’s more to do with the huge surge in technology, and all that means for what is currently one of the most forward thinking industries at the moment, the excitement is almost palpable. Have you noticed the growth in popularity of art installations featuring lighting? They seem to be popping up everywhere – and the residents of cities around the world are being treated to fantastic opportunities to submerge themselves – sometimes quite literally – in these new works of art. We’ve had news of so many fantastic creations recently that it seemed like a great excuse to indulge a passion by showcasing a few of our favourites. They’ve been created by some of the world’s most renowned artists who use the medium of light to share a little happiness. If you think that’s going too far, have a look at the video (www.tlmagazine.co.uk) for Claudia Paz Studio’s latest installation in Lima – the expressions on the faces of those getting interactive with Pixel Flow, tell their own story better than words ever could - and it’s all done with light. Gill Anderson | editor
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Light is a powerful language, and I found with light the way to communicate with others, tried to reach their heart, adding a bit of magic…. Feels great when you are able to add a new smile in people faces, or trigger the sparkle in the children´s eyes. Every time I saw this when they go to my installations, make my day happier!’ Claudia Paz
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LIGHT
ART
THE INNER CHILD A
rt installations with scope for public interaction is growing in popularity, and there’s no better medium for that interactivity, than light. City dwellers across the globe are being treated to exciting projects that invite them to stop and stare, enjoy from a distance, or get hands on creative.
The rising popularity of interactive light art installations None of these would be possible without the artistic genius that thrives in delivering these projects to us, the public, but their creativity is being helped by the on-going surge in lighting technology. Most of the ‘light art’ we now enjoy wouldn’t have been possible even ten years ago.
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LIGHT
ART
Box of delights (previous page)
C’è Luce [There is light] is the brainchild of Andare Oltre Si Può, an Italian association promoting the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down’s Syndrome, and is part of a project dedicated to Light AOSP 2015. ThesignLab’s Domenico Raimondi, art director and designer of C’è Luce, explained the concept: ‘As an important element in everyday life, light is a unique and essential resource; it nourishes the life, and also improves it. During the International Year of Light and technologies based on Light promoted in 2015 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, there is a crossing and meeting place. A square in the square where people meet, and look into each other’s eyes, a place where you can give a smile, or look at the sky pointing the nose upwards. ‘Modernity contrasts the art, contemporaneity contrasts the history. Light is life, colour, emotion. Light is hope.’ The installation consists of 112 water tanks with low-consumption LED lamps inside. At the four entrances, visitors use touch controls to change the brightness and colour of the walls. Inside, the message ‘Going beyond it’s possible’ is displayed in different languages. The installation, one of 101 works dedicated to light, was on display at the Palazzo Ducale in Lucca during December and January before being auctioned for charity.
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LIGHT
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Light spirals An artist who regularly works with light to Particles of light gently encompass participants, immersing them in an create stunning interactive installations, and audiovisual landscape in which even whose work has featured regularly in TL, the slightest movement generates light is Claudia Paz, founder of Claudia Paz and sound across the space. With each Studio in Lima. Her latest work, Pixel Flow has been gesture, the patterns of colour evolve and intriguing passers by, and inviting them to move, while the generative audio system intuitively create stunning patterns of light in the district of San Isidro. Pixel Flow, by Claudia Paz Studio Paz explained: ‘Pixel Flow is an immersive, interactive light and sound installation created for the people to explore emotive experiences and trigger in them unforgettable memories. ‘Our approach was to integrate the installation with the public space, and give the people a magic moment in a urban space, where they can interact with the installation and the surroundings, creating a social environment.’ The installation allows visitors to explore the senses in a space generated by light and sound that allows responds accordingly with a dynamic them to express themselves freely. soundtrack. The idea is that people will feel wrapped The structure is designed to follow the in a spiral of light pixels and customised natural flow of movement of the body; to sounds activated by the natural flow of make you extend your arms and feel the their body motion, creating a unique and freedom to express yourself, as an organic magical experience for each person. flow of light wraps around you and invites The installation has 10 different you to become part of the installation. scenarios, each designed to produce a Every time someone enters the structure, different experience. Paz likens it to; ‘being the intensity of white light increases, immersed in a Van Gogh dream between dazzling and transporting them to a new, swirling clouds and stars, in a world of randomly switching scene. liquid light that appears in a magical way, When it comes to the technology through the movement of your hand across involved, Paz explained: ‘With the use of the installation.’ a kinect camera, detailed movements are
detected as inputs to drive organic particles of light across the structure. ‘Highly responsive light particles were handled by algorithms that managed the complex real-time movement of the user, ensuring a natural and fluid reaction of the 2235 pixels. Every movement or gesture triggers a light pattern and a custom sound. ‘The structure was designed to follow the natural movement of the body in motion, beginning almost at ground level and developing into a four-metre high wall. Each rectangular pole integrates small RGB nodes of CK Flex LM clear dome, individually controlled and at 10cm spaces; the dots cover the entire front face of the structure and part of the back, to create the perception of pixels floating in the space. ‘Metal studs were distributed radially around a circular fivemetre diameter platform with a mirror effect finish, to generate an infinity space that goes beyond the floor.’ Pixel Flow creates an incredible responsiveness that captures the participants by surprise; the installation is a playful development of physically interactive concepts previously explored by the studio. Paz agreed, explaining: ‘We aim to create permanent interactive installations in public spaces, because we believe these will bring life to such key spaces, where people will interact with light and themselves, generating social participation, and safer places to gather with the family and friends.’
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