Week 8 Tutorial

It was a pleasure to spend some time talking with Jesse about all aspects of the course.  The lion’s share focussed appropriately upon project development.  We shared an interesting conceptual discussion about the passage of light through glass: stained glass originally intended to allow those who could not read the opportunity to observe scenes from the bible – the light or window being a snapshot of a bible scene, not unlike a photographic record.

We both have similar thoughts about the possibility of using light boxes in an exhibition, and for that matter we also shared similar reservations…

With over 130 stained glass objects amongst its permanent displays, the V&A Museum turned to LED lighting specialists bright green technology for a solution to their display within the new Medieval and Renaissance galleries.  Stunning through this looks, Jesse an I shared the opinion that for me to adopt such an approach in an exhibition space would be little more than direct mimicry of the stained glass windows themselves.  Although technological developments together with increased used of LEDs have made such light boxes more affordable, they can still be eye wateringly expensive.  Notwithstanding, I quite like the idea of using one large light box, perhaps as a draw to an exhibition.  However, I remain confident that printing on heavy art paper (310gsm Hahnemuhle German Etching paper or similar).

Jesse suggested the idea of a pop-up exhibition to bring the project to the masses, and/or the use of an interactive, tablet-driven show – perhaps making it more attractive to demographics who might not otherwise be drawn to stained glass windows.  With my background in IT, I am attracted more to the latter, not least because it returns us to the concept of viewing the stained glass as backlit images.

I have much still to do where an exhibition is concerned, but suspect that securing an appropriate space would help steer the choice of medium, for example.  My intention is to accompany any such exhibition with a detailed guide… something that could double as a guide in its own right.  To that end, I ensure that every Project Development entry contains appropriate historical information on each location.