Top 10 light art artists in modern and contemporary art
The utilization of light as an artistic medium has a rich and diverse history. Light art is an art form in which light serves as the primary medium of expression. It encompasses sculptures that emit light and the creation of ethereal sculptural presence through the manipulation of light, colors, and shadows. These immersive installations can exist in both temporary and permanent forms, gracing indoor spaces like galleries and museums or transforming outdoor settings at events such as festivals. Light art can also involve the interaction of light within specific architectural environments, custom-tailored to harmonize with the structures themselves. In this exploration of the medium, we've curated a selection of pioneering contemporary artists who dedicate a significant portion, if not all, of their creative endeavors to the medium of light art.
Dan Flavin
Dan Flavin, an American minimalist artist, is renowned for his creation of sculptural objects and installations using readily available fluorescent light fixtures. His journey into light art began in 1961 when he worked as a museum guard at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Flavin's iconic "Icons" series, initiated during this period, featured colored boxlike constructions adorned with incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. The "Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy" in 1963 marked a turning point in his career, with a yellow fluorescent tube placed at a 45-degree angle on a wall. Flavin continued to innovate, using fluorescent structures to explore color, light, and sculptural space, eventually expanding his works into room-size light environments. Notably, his 1992 site-specific installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's rotunda showcased the evolution of his work.
Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin, an American artist, delves into perception through site-specific architectural interventions that transform the sensory, temporal, and physical experience of space. His artistic journey began as a painter in the 1950s, but he transitioned to installation art in the 1960s, becoming a pioneer in the West Coast Light and Space movement. This artistic movement focused on perceptual phenomena, with artists exploring light, volume, scale, and innovative materials like glass, neon, and acrylic. Irwin's emphasis shifted towards the placement of his works in diverse settings, challenging the boundaries of art and perception by manipulating environmental contexts.
James Turrell
James Turrell, an American artist associated with the California Light and Space movement, pursued perceptual psychology, mathematics, and astronomy before enrolling in the Studio Art program at the University of California, Irvine. In 1966, he experimented with light by manipulating natural light sources in his Santa Monica studio, giving rise to his initial light projections. His "Shallow Space Constructions" in 1968 employed screened partitions to create radiant, flattened effects through concealed light. Turrell's most ambitious work, Roden Crater, is an ongoing project that transformed an extinct cinder cone volcano into a massive naked-eye observatory for celestial phenomena.
Mary Corse
Mary Corse, an American artist, explores perceptual phenomena, considering light as both the subject and material of her art. Her practice merges Abstract Expressionism and American Minimalism, with a focus on controlled, geometric Minimalism in the mid-1960s. Corse's experiments with fluorescent bulbs encased in Plexiglas boxes in 1966 led to wireless light box installations, requiring her to study quantum physics for certification in handling large Tesla coils. Her work often features radiant surfaces, incorporating materials like glass microspheres to refract and reflect light uniquely.
Keith Sonnier
Keith Sonnier's art journey paralleled the minimalist generation of the 1960s, encompassing postminimalism, performance, video, and light art. His innovative use of materials, including neon starting in 1968, allowed him to draw with light and color in space. Neon's linear quality added a performative element to Sonnier's light art, enabling interaction with architectural dimensions.
Anthony McCall
Anthony McCall, a British-born artist based in New York, is celebrated for his "solid light" installations that he initiated in 1973. These installations feature volumetric forms composed of projected light evolving in three-dimensional space, creating captivating and dramatic experiences. McCall's work blends cinema, sculpture, and drawing, offering viewers a unique intersection of art forms.
Leo Villareal
Leo Villareal, an American artist, combines LED lights and computer programming to craft illuminated displays. His work strips systems down to their core elements, often focusing on pixels or binary code. Villareal's arrangements of LEDs, programmed to move and interact, give rise to complex, evolving displays. His art explores spatial and temporal resolutions, often incorporating chance and emergent behavior.
Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson, a Danish-Icelandic artist, engages with the elements, including light, water, and air temperature, to shape viewers' experiences and sensory responses. His practice spans various disciplines and often involves collaboration with experts from scientific and technical fields. Eliasson's light installations, such as "Room For One Colour" and "360 degrees Room For All Colours," manipulate light to distort perceptions and create immersive environments.
Ivan Navarro
Ivan Navarro, a Chilean artist, draws inspiration from his upbringing during the Pinochet dictatorship, which profoundly influences his art. His works often incorporate neon and infinity mirrors, offering viewers an experience of infinite space with neon elements suggesting hidden depths. Navarro's art reflects on themes of control, power, and human rights violations.
teamLab
Founded in Japan in 2001, teamLab is a collective of artists, engineers, programmers, and mathematicians exploring the intersection of art, science, and technology. Their interactive light sculptures, such as those at teamLab Borderless, have garnered immense popularity, blurring the lines between art and entertainment. Visitors engage with dynamic light sculptures, creating a unique "museum without a map" experience that has resonated with audiences worldwide.
These ten contemporary artists have paved the way for the evolution of light as a medium in modern and contemporary art, pushing boundaries and challenging perceptions through their innovative and immersive works.