Expanded Light

The invention and popularisation of electric light was an essential characteristic of modernity that revolutionised life in the 20th century. Artist’s use of light became increasingly expansive and architectural, enveloping the viewer with light to become a part of the work as they engage with it.

In the 1960s, Dan Flavin (1933–1996) was a pioneer of light art in America, working only with commercially available fluorescent light tubes to create sculptures and installations. This new potential of light quickly evolved into new types of sculptural space and light environments, becoming the sole medium of artists such as James Turrell (1943–). While Flavin preferred to assert the ordinariness of light in his work, Turrell’s installations are intended to produce a state of self-reflection and contemplation, encouraging viewers to become aware of the process of looking and the limits of perception. Olafur Eliasson (born 1967) similarly uses strategies that change the appearance of the gallery architecture depending on the position of the viewer, reminding us that our actions, however small, have an impact on the world around us.

光之扩展

电灯的发明和普及是现代化的一个基本特征，它彻底改变了20世纪的生活。艺术家对光的使用变得越来越广泛，也越来越有建筑感，当观者参与到作品中时，用光包围着他们，让他们成为作品的一部分。

上世纪60年代，被视为美国灯光艺术先驱的艺术家丹·弗莱文（1933–1996）仅使用市面销售的荧光灯管来创作光的雕塑和装置。光的这种新潜力迅速演变为新型雕塑空间和灯光环境，成为詹姆斯·特瑞尔（1943-）等艺术家的唯一媒介。弗莱文更愿意在作品中坚持光的平凡性，而特瑞尔的装置则旨在营造一种自我反思和沉思的状态，鼓励观者时刻意识到观看的过程以及感知的局限性。奥拉维尔·埃利亚松（1967—）也使用类似的策略，根据观者的位置改变展厅建筑的外观，提醒人们意识到，无论我们的行为多么微不足道，都会对周围的世界产生影响。