Concept
The role of light
Rennes - France: Champs Libres Photo: Didier Boy De La Tour
Palma de Mallorca - Spain: Es Baluard Photo: JosĂŠ Hevia Blach
The Eye and Vision
The human eye is the starting point of all lighting design. It is instinctively drawn towards the brightest object in the field of vision, and it is also attracted to contrast, change or movement. The skilful Lighting Designer can use some of the features of the eye to increase the power of his or her design. It then becomes possible to create a visual hierarchy of objects. A typical museum or exhibition will have a range of objects and
surfaces to be lit. These could be: the artefacts, the gallery space itself (if the exhibition is in a prestigious place), supporting graphic material (from a tiny label that carries an artefact's number to a major piece of graphic artwork) or the floor surface, so that visitors can see their way around safely and comfortably. The visual hierarchy should support the story being told by the exhibition. If the lighting designer starts with no light at all,
he or she can build up lighting layer by layer to whatever relative and absolute levels he or she needs to support the story being told by the exhibition. Moreover, changes of emphasis can be created by adding dynamic and coloured light. Great care must be taken when using coloured light, though a change of colour may be as subtle as using a white light with a different colour temperature.
Thessaloniki - Greece: Museum of Byzantine Culture Photo: Giuseppe Saluzzi
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