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"The light was what it was all about: Seeing the Light
Open your eyes to light phenomena
"I really believe if people look closely at this show, if they think about light as they move through the exhibit and look at the photographs, look at the titles, they really could improve their eyesight." he show in question is "Natural Light and the Italian Piazza," currently on display at the Performing Arts Center on the Cal Poly campus. This Friday, Nov. 5, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. is the public's last chance to view Lakeman's photographic treatise on light For 15 years, the licensed architect, documentary photographer, and educator has taught light in design theory, documentary photography, and civic architecture classes teaching students to be more aware of light phenomena. "This is really a world class exhibition," said Lakeman, noting it's been on display in Siena, Italy where many of the photographs were taken, as well as Oregon. The PAC show is the third time the work as been displayed, and Lakeman has created an installation worthy of the work. Occupying space on all four levels of the venue, the photos are encased in Plexiglass and hung on a vast aluminum framework that, thanks to monies secured by Lakeman, now belongs to the Cal Poly Architecture department. The hanging system also includes lighting, and it's a perfect fit for the PAC, which offers a wonderful albeit typically under utilized space to display artwork. As you enter the front doors and look up, you'll see a series of photographs all taken from a low angle - it's a clever little trick that immediately places viewers in Lakeman's point of view. Between the high-hung photos are colorful flags from Siena. Lakeman has grouped the images for maximum impact, but also for maximum teaching effectiveness. In one area, you begin with a seacoast at dawn, approach through a countryside, see a town in the distance, before finally entering through roads and entry ways into Siena, Italy- which Lakeman calls "one of the most beautiful cities in the world" due to "determined city planning decisions over the centuries that have ensured its livability." Other groups of photos point out light phenomenon such as penumbra, the marginal area at the edge of a shadow where it begins to diffuse. "I taught at Cal Poly, so study of light can't be only about art, it has to be about science, too," said Lakeman. "People learn in different ways and see in different ways." Lakeman's exhibition points out scientific principles, yet its heart and soul is the beauty of the photographs themselves, which frequently depict the commonplace rather than the extraordinary. "I think I am attracted to the common and I see beauty in the common and the ordinary." Yet Lakeman's gift is showing how something simple and ordinary contains stunning beauty. She's obviously in love with the way light plays off surfaces, distorts the atmosphere, helps define space. Lakeman, who retired from teaching this year, was one of the first two female tenured professors in the architecture department. She worked on this exhibition from 1983 until 1992 and is currently working on a new project studying light effects on 4,000-year-old Nuraghi-age architecture on the Italian isle of Sardinia. Her photos of the isle's ruins have already been featured in two architecture publications. Ask artists who have learned how to draw what's in front of them, and they'll tell you learning to draw changed the way they see things. In the same way, closely viewing this show will open your eyes to the way natural light works - you'll find a whole world around you that you never knew existed. Glen Starkey hides his light under a bushel. Reach him at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com. |
Cal Poly Professor Emeritus Sandra Davis Lakeman wants you to open your eyes to something all around you, something you see but don't notice: the world of natural light