Page 33 - Studio International - February 1967

Extreme right Vardanega
Couleurs Sonores 1963-5-6

Right Le Parc Continue/ Lumière 1962
Below right Von Graevenitz
Kleines Lichtobjekt 1966
Below Bruno Munari
Fountain with three cylinders 1961
The large cylinder with panes of neutral
colours is turned electrically. Of the smaller,
one with warm colours is turned by air, one
with cold colours by water. The colours thus
combine and change.

constricted space in their demonstrations of spectator one Kinetic artist, especially those of a certain age. The
participation. Yet one never lost the impression that this case for luminous art as a contemplative pursuit would
was one of the places in the exhibition where the spectator tend to maintain the classical division of the plastic arts
was closest to the phenomenon of creation and research. into 'painting' (or 'pictures') and 'sculpture' (or 'ob-
It was unfortunate that the Russian group Dvizjenije jects'). Some paradoxical results would follow from this.
which consists of specialists from various fields under the Thomas Wilfred, a courageous pioneer in the art of light
leadership of an artist, Lev Nusberg, could not take part conceived as a spectacle, shows in his latest work, Op. 160,
in this manifestation. Their plans arrived too late for exhibited at Eindhoven, that the dramatic inspiration has
execution, but their contribution to the catalogue has pro- been retained but the element of spectacle reduced to
vided some valuable items of interest. Their search for limited proportions. Other individual artists, who have
symmetry, their concern with new architectural possibili- worked for several years in the medium of light, hesitate
ties, the science-art relationship and the interrelations between two poles, the 'plastic' and the 'environmental'.
between the arts—as well as their subtle sense of humour — Malina, although inspired by the physical universe,
would certainly have enlivened the exhibition. chooses an intimate scale for his works. In the KLK ex-
Although more than fifteen nationalities were represented hibition, the three systems which he used—the Lumidyne,
in this exhibition, some points of general agreement can the reflectodyne and the polaridyne —are employed in
be registered. The new light medium provokes a maxi- works which retain the proportions of the traditional
mum interest in visual phenomena, which may however picture, and demand a corresponding reaction from the
be combined with other 'natural' phenomena like move- spectator, who passes from one to another with appropri-
ment. At the same time it connotes the will to control and ate periods of contemplation. Yet Malina's large mural at
`program' plastic statements, including so-called random the Pergamon Press, Oxford, indicates a desire to exploit
phenomena (outside contingencies, etc.). Although the the environmental potentiality of his systems. John
environment can be treated in various ways, and the Healey, who exhibited two attractive pieces— one chroma-
artist's expression can cover widely differing aspects of tic and one black and white—has opted for large boxes
spatial or psychological reality, this is not simply an art that exercise a hypnotic fascination upon the spectator.
which is dependent on the environment, or includes a Yet the fact that he consults experts in other technical
comment on it, or can be conceived in function of it. It is fields and that he envisages the projections of his work to
principally an art which acts on and transforms the en- almost any dimension underlines his environmental aims.
vironment. Of the other pioneers, Calos sees a possible application
Another point which emerges is that the implications of of his work in replacing the stained-glass window,
the use of real light (and real movement) definitely point although at present he works on a reduced scale for ex-
towards action rather than contemplation, however much perimental (and economic) reasons. Schöffer and Lassus
the 'artistic' side of luminous art continues to exert its enlarge their fundamentally plastic statements to an en-
influence. This fact is apt to cause conflict in more than vironmental and urbanistic scale. A clear example of this