Cooperating with Zhu Xiaodi, an architect and artist, the artistic installation work "Rongji" is created, and it is a cross-field work witnessing the changes of the designer from "the lighting designer" to "that lighting designer".
Although it is across fields, it still needs to think about light and shadow.
The actual condition is that the artist requires that the shadows of the lines can clearly cover a space of 10m * 10m * 10m without deformation, dark areas or overlapping of the shadow, especially at the turning point between the facade and the facade. Avoid the discomfort of direct glare to viewers, and they only feel the charm of light and shadow and will not notice the existence of lamps. Match the theme of "Chinese ink painting". As Van Dean said, light is the ink in Zhu Xiaodi's work "Rongji".
How to ink? With what kind of light and what kind of technique, the purest light can be presented?
The light of "Rongji" should be smooth and clean, and it should not be "sloppy". We have reconsidered the "attribute" of light. Light is the existence of waves. We should choose simple and pure light waves. Projection lamps can show the shadows clearly and purely in space with clear boundaries. The projection lamps accurately express our expectation of shadows without twist or distortion. What we need is this kind of "real expression". The viewers should see the original appearance of the object without being disturbed or influenced by various other factors, including the influence from light. As mentioned in the Diamond Sutra, "one should observe what one does."
After determining the light source, we launched the lamp tests. The next difficulty is how to cover the whole facade with shadows in the limited space. When the angle of a lamp is close to the maximum range, it still can’t be completely covered. We have created combined lamps located in the center of the space, with a total of 24 lamps, and the generated light completely covers the facade. The combined lamps are surrounded by lines and form an integral whole. They look like a "ball" and have sharp edges and corners. Lamp is the body of light, light is used by the lamp, and they are in one. Its light is just right, demonstrating the extraordinary parts of "Rongji".
When all the lamps are 100% lit, the ground illumination can reach 150LUX, and the true "lines" and the fake "lines" of the shadows "integrating together, without any flaw.’’ The "lines" appear on the facade, the top surface, the floor, every corner of the space, the viewer's face and body. As long as people enter the space, they are bound to be together with “’lines’. Strong shadows, are produced by strong lights. Light creates the shadow we need and also leads to glare we don't need. In order to keep clear shadows and take into account people's comfort, we reduced the maximum brightness of lamps to 80%, making the light less dazzling.
The Chinese ink painting is changeable, and no one can master its rules.
We discussed with artists how to use light to express inscrutability. Finally, we have determined a control mode, in which the light can fade in and out by 10% ~ 80% through the program. The man-made "inscrutability" implies the changes of reality.
Thank the architect and artist Mr. Zhu for giving us the opportunity to cooperate. This is also my first artistic work of illumination installation, which makes me realize the art of light more deeply. The light of artistic works is more personalized, full of contradictions and stories, more relevant and closely related to the theme of the installation, and also more tests the understanding and interpretation of artists' works by lighting technicians. Accurate expression requires deep understanding.
