MA research journal: LED art

Planet LED

Teddy Lo (Oro Editions 2014)

Developments in LED lighting esp. in last 10-15 years are making possible a whole new field of light art.

LED lighting offers an artist more options, control and flexibility than earlier light forms:

o A palette of over 4 trillion colours which can be manipulated digitally e.g. to pulsate, ‘flow’, grow dimmer and lighter.
o Visible in bright sunlight.
o Can be assembled in any size and configuration, so can be used to enhance architecture, to create installations and smaller scale 3-d pieces.
o Emit very little heat so can be used in conjunction with sensitive materials.

The technology is available (both the lighting itself and the ability to design with it digitally), now it is for artists and designers to catch up. They ‘are now only scratching the surface of this “blue ocean” technology, knowing that one day soon a new lighting paradigm will be on the horizon. We are still only seeing just the tip of this technological iceberg. . . ‘

Erwin Redl, one of the featured artists

LED lighting enables him to create abstract pieces that aren’t cold or conceptual: ‘I consider abstraction as something that is quite different, something extremely sensual or, if you prefer a more corporeal notion, goose bump-worthy.’

Exploring the intersection of virtual and real space, the effect on our perception of space. It's a visual experience that works because of the viewer's movement around it in space and time. Aiming to radically transform an environment which is like a second, social ‘skin’ that enables people to behave differently – losing social inhibitions in a more virtual world.

The grid structure of the lighting: ‘Within those restricted parameters another aesthetic world unfolds.’

The power of the more immersive pieces to stimulate memories in the viewer.

Begins with a drawing on paper, a ‘laboratory for structural experiments, ’almost leaving no room for any individualistic expression of the artist beyond the initial concept.’ Surrenders his creative idea to the geometry of the medium. Then uses programmes like Maya, 3D Studio Max and MicroStation. Uses modular systems (compares with lego). Then has to be in the physical environment to apply the design to the space.

Other LED artists

(Check out Burning Man festival Nevada website)

Ingo Maurer