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Infor-

Michael Lavery and Amy Mosher

Light Abacus I was installed in 1990 into the reception area of the second floor of Criser Hall. It is made of aluminum, glass, and diffraction grating. It is 6’2’’ x 15’1’’. Wow! That’s probably three times as tall as you are!

Did you know that…? There is also a

Light Abacus II and a Light Ab-acus III! You can find one in the main lobby of Peabody Hall, and the other on the first floor of Criser Hall, at the north end of the cashier windows. See if you can find them!

Dale Eldred was born in 1933 and died in 1993.

He played foot-ball for the Uni-versity of Mich-igan.

Light Abacus I

WALK from one side of the sculpture to the other. LOOK at the changes in colors across the sculpture. THINK about why this might happen!

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Dale Eldred uses light to convey deeper messages about people and nature. His artwork uses diffraction to make this effect. “I have returned to this concept of light and shadow as entities directly related to the hu-man condition.” -Eldred

What is…? Diffraction:

the bending of light waves around obsta-cles in their path

A Prism: an

object that dis-perses light in-to a spectrum (think rainbow colors!) through diffraction

How it works: Light enters the

prism and is re-fracted by the glass. The violet is bent more than the yellow and red, so the colors separate

Diffraction in Action

“Light Garden”-Princess Anne Com-mons Gateway Park, Virginia Beach

(1988)

The popular band Pink Floyd used diffraction through a prism as their cover art on their album “Dark Side of the Moon.”

Diffraction does not always occur through a prism or a solid object. Diffraction nat-urally occurs when sunlight passes through clouds.

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Dale Eldred once said, "I want the sculpture to remind us all," he says "that our lives are inextricably linked to light, and that our uni-verse is in constant motion." His art constantly changes with the motion of the sun, so you come back again and again and never see the same artwork twice.

What do you think…? How has art

and our ideas about art changed over time?

What is art to you? Can any-thing be art?

Dale Eldred

said: "I bring to my art some-thing I much admire in oth-ers-a sense of adventure. I would walk a long way to see something I had never seen before in my life." What do you think he means by this?

In the past, light was used to figure out the time of day with devices called sundials.

Ancient Artwork

"Solar Field" Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art -

Kansas City, Missouri (1980)

Ancient Egyptian sundial

Throughout the ages, people have had a fasci-nation with light. Ancient Egyptians and other cul-tures worshipped sun gods. Eldred once said, ““The worship of light is woven through the whole of human existence.”

Artworks from earlier time periods look the same every time you view them, but contemporary artists like Eldred have created a revolution in the art world with their ever-changing pieces!

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What do you think light is?

We’ve talked a lot about how other people view light, from ancient times until present day. Now it’s your turn to think about it. Draw what you think of when you think of light! If you want a challenge, try drawing light dif-fracting through a prism (remember-rainbow colors!).

Discover More!

Brain Pop Tim and Moby teach you the similarities and differences between diffraction and refraction. http://www.brainpop.com/science/energy/refractionanddiffraction/preview.weml Exploratorium Snacks A diffraction experiment that you and your family can do at home! http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/diffraction/index.html

Kids.Net.Au Want to learn more about diffraction? This encyclopedia page has it all! http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/di/Diffraction

Do-It-Yourself Diffraction

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