Light & Culture

Light & Culture Light & Art Light & Life Light & Belief

Light & Art

Paintings in all cultures show how artists have used light to shade, color, illustrate mood and create atmosphere…

Artists have also been inspired by the stars to create pieces of art for example The Starry Night is a painting by Vincent van Gogh.

Light has been a source of inspiration for many poems as well.

One of the oldest examples of light in art is stained glass which uses natural light to illuminate itself. Stained glass dates back to the fourth century

Modern technologies allow artists to use light in new ways.

Photography and Cinematography Light is essential in photography and cinematography because it is necessary to create an image exposure on a frame of film or on a digital target.

In visual storytelling lighting effects the emotional response an audience has watching a motion picture.

Light & Belief

Ancient Greek and Rome Maya Civilization Egyptians

Ancient Greek & Rome Apollo Apollo was the god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more in classical Greek and Roman religion.

Zeus Zeus was the god of sky and thunder. He was usually shown with a lighting in his hand. He was identified with abundance, rain is expected from it.

Mayan People Xmucane and Xpiayoc was the grandmother of light in Mayan religion. The Maya made observations of celestial bodies, patiently recording astronomical data on the movements of the sun, moon, Venus, and the stars.

Egyptian Horus was the god of sky, kingship and light. Set was the god of the sun at sunset, also the god of chaos and storms.

Light & Life

Cameras A camera is an optical instrument for recording or capturing images or videos.

Lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, that emits light to serve as a navigational aid for ships.

Traffic Lights Traffic lights are signalling devices which consist of a set of colored lamps used to control the flow of traffic.

Breakthroughs in light technology also continue to improve the medical industry. Medical imaging, surgical procedures, and even diagnoses rely upon the use of light. Common applications include CT (computed tomography) and X-rays scans

 Found both in research labs and classrooms, microscopes are used for viewing objects too small to be seen by the naked eye. Telescopes are used to see distant objects in space.

Lasers are commonly used to diagnose and treat many illnesses. Examples of this are treatment of eye disorders, epilation and micro surgeries.