# Light Paintings



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

As a nice way to spend a rainy day, I've just come back from my local art museum which had a special exhibit of Light Paintings by artist Stephen Knapp.








Knapp creates his works by using dichroic glass, which is treated with layers of metallic coatings. These combine to act as a selective prism, separating focused light into different frequencies of the spectrum. Knapp cuts, shapes and polishes the glass to create a palette that refracts and reflects light onto a surface and the surrounding space.








Some of the works were installed directly on the walls and some were mounted on what appeared to be white unframed canvas or similar. The cut/layered glass is mounted using stainless steel L-clamps, whose reflections and shadows also become part of the image. Each artwork was lit by a small spotlight.








The exhibit included a film where the artist explained his process (he works in his studio to opera music!). The film included examples of additional installations in recesses, which created a shadowbox effect, and one which changed as daylight filtered across it.
These were appealing, as my museum's entire exhibit of 13 lightpaintings were in a light-controlled space, which about 1/2 mounted directly on the wall and 1/2 being the blocked canvas style, all lit from above.








I enjoyed getting right up close to these artworks and trying to figure out the physics of how certain colors, shapes, and shadows were created. Lightpaintings are the intersection of painting, sculpture and technology, exploring color, light and space in a hybrid form. The color palette of light is red, blue, and green, which differs from pigment's palette of red, blue, and yellow.








More about the artist and medium here.
http://www.lightpaintings.com/


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

There's nothing like unique and truly beautiful Contemporary Art.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Nice! Contemporary artists are doing some very interesting things.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> There's nothing like unique and truly beautiful Contemporary Art.


There's nothing like anything unique.

By definition!


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Interesting technical info on light-painting.

Dichroic glass, developed in Germany over 100 years ago, evolved through what is called "Thin Film Physics" and was used initially for aerospace programs in such applications as solar cells and quantitative measuring devices. The base coating or preliminary color of dichroic glass is viewed in transmitted light, and when turned to 45 degrees shifts to a second color, as well as a third color in reflection. The glass reflects away certain color wavelengths and transmits others; light effects seen in peacock feathers, oil slicks, and opals.

All the glass in Knapp's light-paintings are "safety glass" with up to twenty-four microscopically thin metallic layers applied in high vacuum environments with materials as varied as beryllium, chromium, selenium, yttrium, and tin. The glass shapes are cut with diamond grits. Illumination in each piece is usually provided by a single 50-watt halogen light.

The mounting process is meticulous. Just the slightest change of angle produces dramatic variations and the shadows of the steel mounting elements are positioned to introduce lines and angles into the composition, the whole time spent preserving as much as possible the clarity and pristine purity of the manipulated light.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Amazingly intellectual and beautiful! Glad you had a good time there, Lunasong, and thanks for sharing this with us.


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## Wandering (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm a fan of the glass blowing artist, *Chihuly*.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Clovis said:


> I'm a fan of the glass blowing artist, *Chihuly*]


He had an installation down here at the Cheekwood mansion. It was amazing.


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