From László Moholy-Nagy to Brigitte Kowanz, a growing number of festivals of light include artistic positions from the last century when artists working with physical light as material or medium made a difference. This is not part of a networked strategy but rather a series of independent developments that have emerged over years of engagement — nurtured by dedicated conversations between artists and curators in production and documentation, art education, and academic discourse.
Festivals of Light
Since the 1990s, festivals of light have been a transnational trend, marking a significant shift in the art world. The first festivals in Europe, such as LUX in Helsinki (1995), Luci d’Artista in Turin (1998), Fête des Lumières in Lyon (1998), and LICHTROUTEN Luedenscheid (2002), set the stage for a movement that has only grown in strength and diversity. The International Light Festival Organization (ILO) now oversees over 40 festivals of light of international importance in Europe and beyond, each with its unique profile, curatorial concept, and set of artistic expressions. And there are countless others of local and regional appeal, some with long-term experiences, such as SVETLOBNA GVERILA in Ljubljana or ISLAND OF LIGHT on Smögen, all contributing to this rich and diverse tapestry of festivals of light.
Replay
Some festivals have shown a commitment to creating exhibition environments for art positions from the 20th century in recent years. This dedication draws attention to the enduring interest in light in artistic research and practice, formulated by László Moholy-Nagy in the 1920s, and how it has evolved over the last century. From the 1950s onwards, artists’ networks such as EXACT in Zagreb, EQUIPO 57 in Spain, ZERO in Germany, GRAV in France, GRUPPO N and GRUPPO T in Italy, DIMENSIO in Finland, LIGHT AND SPACE in the USA and GUTAI in Japan emerged. These networks, functioning as echo chambers for artistic development, have significantly shaped the evolution of fine art. They have explored light as material and medium, the interdependencies between light, time, space, and movement, the interplay of light and light-responsive materials, and the phenomena of light perception. In their parallel and partly shared artistic practice, they expanded the canon of art but only occasionally received attention from curated projects, galleries, or museums.
Artistic gatherings, public action, and street performances were integral to the artistic practice of almost all artists’ networks. In 1962, the ZERO festival in Duesseldorf was dedicated to the “demonstration of light with spotlights and light reliefs, aluminum flags, metal foils, balloons and soap bubbles as well as fireworks.” The ZERO artists described their practice as “Edition, Exposition, Demonstration.” In 1963, GRAV developed a labyrinth for the Paris Biennial. The audience was asked to walk a parkour of twenty environmental experiences. The labyrinth encompassed wall-mounted reliefs, light installations, and mobile bridges. GRAV claimed that viewers’ reactions had social implications. For the GRAV network, keywords were “perception as it is today,“ “contemplation,“ „visual activation,” and “active spectatorship.” Their combination of innovative artistic practices in public space, their experience-based approach, and their inclusive ambition for all audiences comprise many elements of today’s festivals of light.
Including light-based media
Along with the digital transformation since the 1960s, artistic work with light and light-based media continued to evolve. To date, light sources and lighting systems, optical materials, screens, and projection systems are abundant in contemporary art. Exhibitions such as the Documenta (1964, Kassel, Fridericianum), “The Responsive Eye” (1965, New York City, Museum of Modern Art), “KunstLichtKunst” (1968, Eindhoven, Vanabbe Museum), or “Cybernetic Serendipity: the Computer and the Arts” (1968, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London) responded to the new trends.
In 1979, the first Ars Electronica in Linz brought together artists, curators, and scientists from all over the world at this new “festival for art, technology, and society” in Linz to discuss the digital revolution and its consequences. FISEA, the first international symposium on electronic art, was launched in Utrecht in 1988 and set the path to ISEA International today.
After the turn of centuries, “Light Art from Artificial Light” (2005/2006, Karlsruhe, ZKM), “Light in Darkness” (2010, Düsseldorf, Zero Foundation), “Dynamo” (2013, Paris, Grand Palais) or the “Light Show” (2013, London, Hayward Gallery) reflected on the artistic developments to some extent.
Since the 1990s, the festivals of light have contributed to the fact that artists who build with light as artistic material or medium have become known to a broad audience. Most festivals of light are dedicated to contemporary, often site- and context-specific artwork. Some of the festivals such as EVI LICHTUNGEN in Hildesheim, GOLDSTÜCKE in Gelsenkirchen, KLANGLICHT in Graz, LICHTROUTEN in Luedenscheid, LICHTSTADT in Feldkirch, LUX in Helsinki or the WATER LIGHT FESTIVAL in Brixen not only present contemporary artwork but also integrate artistic positions from the last 100 years into their exhibition programs, some only here and there, some regularly over many years.
These festivals develop a new context by presenting artistic practices from the 20th and 21st Centuries in dialog. They highlight pioneering approaches and show how the artistic exploration of light has changed along with technical development, digitalization, and image rendering technologies, providing insights into the art history of light.
In Graz: To Digitize (2024)
Birgit Lill is the artistic director of the KLANGLICHT festival, which has been held annually in Graz since 2015. She is currently digitizing the work “Untitled (Question Projection),” on which the artistic tandem Fischli/Weiss worked from 1981 to 2002. “I saw the work “Untitled (Question Projection)” by Fischli / Weiss many years ago, and it has always stayed with me,” she says. ”Since then, I’ve been tracing it… and I’m pleased that I’ve now been given the OK by the collection and by the Fischli/Weiss studio to digitize the work, to make it more easily accessible in the future as well. It is a coincidence that it is working out now, but one that has been developing over the years.” For the “Untitled (Question Projection)” installation, Fischli/Weiss were honored with the Golden Lion at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. The revised version will be on display in Graz from October 24 to 26, 2024.
In the original version, 15 slide projectors projected 405 sentences onto the surrounding walls from different directions. Examples of the questions are “Is there still a bus?” “Are the insects overtaking us?””Has someone been in my room?” “Do I know everything about myself?” The digital version is composed as a 3-channel projection and will premiere during this year’s KLANGLICHT edition.
In Helsinki: To Honor (2024)
“Ekku Peltomäki is one of the most well-known personalities in Finland when talking about light in art, design, and shows. He is a pioneer in Finland when it comes to light and light art. He was also one of the first to call himself an artist and move away from the status of lighting designer. At the end of the 1980s and 1990s, he created one of Finland’s first light art exhibitions,” says Juha Rouhikoski, artistic director of LUX Helsinki.
This year, the lighting installation ‘Finlandia’ by Ekku Peltomäki, which premiered in 1989, was part of the festival program. “The original concept of his Finlandia was more of a light show. I worked on some as his assistant.” The personal contact made it possible to re-stage the light composition for Hietaniemi Cemetery. ”For LUX Helsinki, inviting him as one of the artists was first an honor and a tribute. We chose the location together with him. He has worked with light in cemeteries and worked intensively to create what he considers appropriate to pay respect to the war veterans in this cemetery. It might look like a lighting design job, but there was a clear intention to create a large-scale work of art (“teos” in Finnish), and in my eyes, it succeeded. The Finlandia anthem and the cemetery where the dead who fought for Finnish independence lie, together with light, which for me at least is always sacred, created an experience that brought tears to my eyes.”
In Feldkirch: For a broader audience (2023)
LICHTSTADT Feldkirch started in 2018. “The special thing about it is the arc regarding content, technology, and disciplines. Ideally, the wide range of light artworks, the most diverse technical processes, and content variants from entertaining to visual art should be shown,” explains Dagmar Fuchs. She is the managing director of the LICHTSTADT Light Art Festival, “We show existing works, adaptations, and new productions by living artists and existing works by deceased artists. Apart from Morellet, however, there was no work older than 20 years.”
Last year, they integrated Francois Morellet’s neon installation “Lamentable,” an artwork from the Zumtobel Collection, in the exhibition program: “François Morellet worked very well in the cathedral, but that was also the effect in the room, as well as the comprehensive supporting program, which contributed to the audience being enthusiastic about it,” she said in an interview. “The work captivates with its timelessness, which means visitors did not perceive Morellet as an ‘old’ work… Classical works are more easily received when embedded in the festival. In this easily accessible festival environment, access to challenging works of contemporary art is facilitated.”
In Hildesheim: In cooperation with a collection (since 2022)
The EVI LICHTUNGEN Light Art Biennale has been taking place in Hildesheim every two years since 2015. Since 2022, EVI LICHTUNGEN has been cooperating with the Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg, located some kilometers away. The private museum in the historic castle grounds is owned by Andrew Hall and Christine Hall, who show a collection of contemporary art at Schloss Derneburg with the Hall Art Foundation. One focus of the collection is on the works of Keith Sonnier. This year’s special exhibition during EVI LICHTUNGEN showed notable positions in light art, including works by Angela Bulloch, Anthony McCall, Olafur Eliasson, and Jenny Holzer. The cooperation will continue in the coming years.
In Brixen: First, there were the art-historical positions (since 2022)
The WATER LIGHT FESTIVAL has been taking place annually since 2017. Parallel to the night program in the old town of Brixen, the Neustift Monastery is developing an exhibition program that can be seen during the day. The success of showing works by Brigitte Kowanz, Keith Sonnier, and James Turrell led to expanding the day-time exhibition program across the abbey’s premises.
In 2023 and 2024, a course has been created in the cultural history museum and adjacent buildings, presenting contemporary art in dialogue with art and cultural history. With the support of the Zumtobel Collection, selected works by Heinz Mack and François Morellet, et al., have been part of exhibition programs. In addition, early LED-based works, such as those by Anish Kapoor and Brigitte Kowanz, were also on display.
In Gelsenkirchen: The Museum’s Collection as a Starting Point (since 2019)
The Light Art Projects GOLDSTÜCKE have been regularly in Gelsenkirchen-Buer since 2019. The art museum was part of the cooperation that launched the festival of light. On display are more than 80 works that trace the development from the beginnings of Op Art to light and kinetic objects to interactive works, including pieces by Yaacov Agam, Werner Bauer, Walter Giers, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Jesús Rafael Soto, and Günther Uecker.
For this year’s edition of the GOLDSTUECKE, the large-format neon installation by Ferdinand Kriwet, “Im Blickpunkt” (en: In the Center of Vision) from 1984, is of particular importance. The luminous text is 4.95 m long and 2.62 m high and has been on permanent display on a glass bridge connecting the two buildings of the art museum since 1984. “REIZ ZEIT” (en: Times of Tension) — one of the terms that can be read here — is the title of this year’s edition of GOLDSTÜCKE from October 2 to 6, 2024.
In Luedenscheid: Curatorial Interest (since 2002)
The LICHTROUTEN in Lüdenscheid has been taking place irregularly since 2002; the ninth edition is planned for March 20 to 29, 2025. From the beginning, artists such as Klaus Geldmacher, Nan Hoover, Magdalena Jetelová, Christina Kubisch, Francesco Mariotti, Helmut Schweizer, and Roman Signer were part of the exhibition program. Each festival edition included artists working with light in the 20th Century.
In 2013, the focus was on art-historical positions, looking into the “Art of Projection” with the art film “Ein Lichtspiel: Schwarz-Weiss-Grau” by László Moholy-Nagy, the installation “Lux 10” by Nicolas Schöffer, and the documentation of the television experiment “The Medium is the Medium” by Aldo Tambellini, Thomas Tadlock, Allan Kaprow, James Seawright, Otto Piene, Nam June Paik. What began as an idea for art education has now become a regular part of the exhibition program.
Art History of Light
The few examples provide a glance into the art history of light. They underscore the importance of Festivals of Light as a platform committed to classical and contemporary artworks. The inclusion of art historical works in the festival programs promotes their preservation and care by restoring, exhibiting, digitizing, and archiving them. New partnerships are emerging with collections and museums that own historical works and seek suitable exhibition environments. In the conflict over the reputation of festivals of light between advertisement, show, design, or art, the commitment of some festivals strengthens aesthetic skills, promotes art’s historical depth of focus, and defines new festival qualities.
FEATURED IMAGE
James Turrell. WATER LIGHT FESTIVAL Brixen / Neustift 2022. Photo: Brixen Tourismus _ Jan Hetfleisch.