Shedding Light(s) – A view into the collection #11

How does light influence our perception of space and time? What artistic, philosophical and social meanings can it have? And how is our use of light changing as a result of digital technologies?

Light creates visibility, atmosphere, and shapes how we perceive spaces and forms. Its role in art has changed over a long period of time: In medieval panel painting, the golden background alluded to ‘the divine’ and rendered the crossing of the boundary of the secular visible. In Renaissance painting, controlled lighting made it possible to design form and space in three dimensions. During the Baroque period, light became the director of theatricality – light-dark contrasts increased drama and emotional intensity. With Impressionism, the atmospheric qualities of light itself became the focus of painting. In the 20th century, photography, film and new technologies such as lasers and LEDs expanded the artistic and creative possibilities. In the middle of the 20th century, light finally emerged as an independent artistic medium, especially in the Light and Space Movement.

Shedding Light(s) shows how artists use light as a creative force, as a symbol and as a visible theme. The focus is on perception, space, time and identity. In order to do justice to this broad range, the presentation of works from the collection combines works under three aspects:

Medium

Light is more than just a means of representation – it is itself a material of art. It appears as a medium when artists work with projections, reflections or luminous bodies. Here, light can be experienced directly: as a space that changes, as energy that spreads, as an event that attracts our attention. Works in this category tie in with the questions posed by the Light and Space Movement: How does light shape spaces? How does it change our experience of time? And how can immaterial phenomena be made visible?

Metaphor

For centuries, light has also been a carrier of meaning. It stands for knowledge and truth, for spirituality, hope or enlightenment – but at the same time also for power, control and transience. Artistic works that use light as a metaphor take up these symbolic dimensions and transfer them into new contexts. They make it possible to experience how deeply light is inscribed in our cultural, philosophical and social ideas.

Motif

Finally, light appears as a motif, as the subject of representation. Whether in painting, photography or video, artists explore how light can be captured, recorded or staged. From the play of reflections and atmospheric moods to complex lighting effects, it becomes clear that light as a subject in images always remains an experiment in perception. This reveals the tension between fleeting appearance and lasting artistic form.