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"THIS is the hour for strange effects in light and shade
—enough to make a colorist go delirious"
Walt Whitman
The Book : Natural Light and the Italian Piazza
Building with light involves the use of wisdom to give a new dimension, a new soul to spaces and places. Sandra Lakeman, with her impressive collection of evocative images and suggestions, has achieved this objective, transforming abstraction into reality. Architectural forms and structures, moments and symbols of an extraordinary urban development touched by light, assume shades of meaning that go beyond simple visual perception, encouraging reflection and suggesting new methods of design.
Siena, the site chosen by Sandra Lakeman as a starting point for her didactic adventure, is in effect the model for her research, which examines and explores the relationship between space and light and the way we experience them. The shadows which trace the profiles of architectural elements, the radiance which contrastingly illuminates certain urban spaces, the Gothic forms delineated by the nuances of light, at times silently suffused, at others more vibrantly alive than the shimmering night, reveals the Gothic soul of the city more effectively than the most detailed description.
Piazza del Campo, the object of particularly careful study by Sandra Lakeman and her students, represents the never-ceasing play of light that penetrates with varying intensity the differing times of day and the rhythmic change of the seasons, describing its architectural history through time.
And around the Square, dark streets and steep lanes, old walls barely grazed by reflected rays of light from the towers and facades of churches and palazzi in a tapestry that is not just the random interweaving of elements over the centuries, but the result of a natural process of urban development.
Sandra Lakeman and her students thus present a new mode of interpretation for the city and its surrounding countryside, its spaces and its symbols in a study which researches the significance of the past while projecting a design for the future.
Pierluigi Piccini
Mayor of Siena
Print and Press Reviews
What follows are a series of quotes and excerpts from published articles and book reviews by members of the press as well as renowned scholars and book critics regarding the research, the photographs, the book and the exhibition.
Some of these articles and book reviews were published in Siena, others are still online and accessible from a couple of book retailers. The appropriate links have been provided for your convenience.
"Professor Lakeman, by virtue of her innate talent, perception and skill as a photographer, has produced a remarkable document both as a book and as an exhibition. Her material is both aesthetically beautiful and extremely instructive."
Prof. Kenneth Frampton, Columbia University, 1993
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"In this modest sized book author Sandra Davis Lakeman has gathered her extensive research and fifteen years of investigation into 'Light as the provider of reality', using her multifaceted gifts in the roles of Architect, Educator and Photographer to produce one of the most creative art books in this realm of Architecture as Art. Focusing on Siena, Italy and with special emphasis on the Piazza del Campo which serves as the "living room" for the city, Lakeman explains how an awareness of light intensifies our perception, allowing us to think and design with Light. Her theories of how the qualities of light through the hours of the day add the finishing touches to the architecture of the city are demonstrated both by schematic drawings and through the utterly lush color photographs of this romantic Tuscan city. The book is not only the culmination of her research into Light; it also served as a catalogue for an exhibition of these photographs in 1992. Her thoughts, while well schooled, are even more impressive because of her ability to communicate in written word in a way that keeps her scholarly thesis engaging and even romantic. 'Light paints our world in beautiful shades of color, tones of chiaroscuro and patina enriched by life and time.' This book is a must for lovers of Italian architecture, artists who long for a fresh perspective on the influence of light in art, for architects who wish to add a significant theory to their knowledge, and for lovers of fine color photography. This is a radiant book. Highly Recommended. "
Grady Harp
Lizardi/Harp Gallery owner, Pasadena, California
As seen in Amazon.com
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"Lakeman reflects upon the significance of light in both philosophy and architectural history, looking toward the Italian piazza, and specifically that of Siena, to render the details. Natural Light, quite evidently the result of a longstanding love, is original in that not only is it incredibly informative, but in that it carries touches of poetic meditativeness as well. One could consider Lakeman and Natural Light to be for urban spaces what Monet's Haystacks series were for painting. Except that this one comes with a glossary."
Source: Builder's Booksource
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"This fascinating book on the importance of light in architecture and urban planning focuses on the city of Siena, Italy, and its impressive Piazza del Campo. Text and photographs capture the different qualities of natural light and how it plays on the beauty of Siena and the ancient Tuscan countryside."
Source: University of Washington Press Book Catalog
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"The stupendous photographs, exhibited in the Cortile del Podesta for over a month, have enchanted the visiting public with their originality and accomplishment. The Exhibition is a striking success; a precious jewel putting the piazza in relation to the play of natural light and shadow. The result: a series of evocative images, forming an exhibition unique in the world."
Attilio Bottarelli, La Gazzetta, Siena, 1992
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"When images go beyond words... images rarely speak so well... those then that have followed the work of this specialist have appreciated the delicate and unpretentious approach towards a civilization different to hers... giving an edition that will remain a milestone in an architectural approach to our reality."
Massimo Biliorsi, La Nazione, 1992
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"In Lakeman's book, the execution, as regards the study of the environment... offers a contribution to the front of science, as luck would have it, relevant to ecology..."
Professor Sergio Micheli, La Voce del Campo, 1992
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"The photographic research conducted on Siena and its architecture has permitted... an unpublished image of our city."
Sonja Corsi, Il Nuovo Campo di Siena, 1992
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"Professor Lakeman is an internationally acknowledged U.S. expert on the history and experiential qualities embodied in Piazza at Siena... her work includes pictorial descriptions and theoretical analysis of the Italian Piazza and will become a standard reference on this subject."
Dean Jerry Finrow, University of Oregon, 1993
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"The exhibit was a well organized, beautifully presented show of wonderful photographs... the collection should appeal to a very wide audience and communicate an awareness of natural light and its properties."
William M.C. Lam, Cambridge, 1993
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"Lakeman's genuine passion for her subject is apparent in every aspect of this work. That excitement and fascination radiates from the pages in a form that everyone should make an effort to be exposed to... the photographs offer a stunning perspective and profound insight that is accessible to all... a philosophical and technical treatise on Light, Architecture and Urban Planning."
Source: Steven Rittea, New Times 1993
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