Light Sculpture
A series of artworks that repurpose the movement of light as the basis for sculpture, investigating how architecture meets the natural world. I explore the juncture between the impermanent and the permanent, taking attention to a building’s relationship with sunlight, to illustrate architectural histories and create physical art.
| Link | media.mit.edu ↗︎ |
| Tools | Python, Processing, Rhino, Glass |
| Location | MIT Media Lab, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts |
Sculpture
The first in a series of time-based, site-specific light sculptures. Using code and computer vision, I capture changes in sunlight patterns over time and respatialize the data into a three-dimensional form.
Sunrise at MIT Media Lab Lobby
Observation
I start by mindfully observing an architecture throughout the day, experiencing its program while searching for locations and moments in time with light that tell a story or reveal a principle in the building’s design.
Process
I record time-lapse video of sunlight phenomena and use computer vision to extract shapes from the light across time. I re-spatialize the data to produce a sculpture that compresses its time/space into one moment/object.
Context
Each sculpture is the result of careful consideration of the location and architectural features in question.
Technique
I use computer vision to retrieve curves from the footage of light, taking attention to their shape in a manner that reflects the overall tone of the lighting phenomena.
Generative Sculpting
I then spatialize the shape data to produce a sculpture.
Architecture
This sculpture series focuses on four architectural landmarks.
- MIT Media Lab (I.M. Pei / Fumihiko Maki)
- Carpenters Center for Visual Arts (Le Corbusier)
- Gropius House (Walter Gropius)
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Willard T. Sears / Renzo Piano)
Initial Result
The initial results are objects that translate the impermament into the permanent. I am currently developing techniques to manufacture the sculptures in glass. More to come.