A lunch time wonder…
…I’ve been invited to go on a light walk as a lunch time thought experiment, a customary event for staff at the Exploratorium. We start the walk huddled at the edge of pier 15. Our guide arrives and looks up. He comments on the weather – it is sunny, and a good day for a light walk. We are lead down the street, and our guide confesses that he is not sure how this tour will turn out. He also lets us know that we need to find some trees. “Lets cross here”. We cross over the Embacadero and on the far side of a small car park we find some splatters of light under a row of Eucalyptus, we convene under the trees. “What do you notice?” our guide asks. There is an…er…awkward shuffle…shadows? There is an enthusiastic shriek from our guide: yes! He rummages around a calico tote bag he is clutching, and almost as if he is performing a new trick on stage, he pulls out a large piece of card. Holding it parallel to the ground we are invited to look again. “What do you notice now?” Our guide drops the card onto the floor, “…and now?”.
He pulls another prop from his tote bag. It is a magnifying glass, and on his knees he explores the light bending properties of the lens, setting the piece of card on fire. There are more props: bits of wood with holes, more card, glasses, our hands. We all have a go at light bending. I think I am starting to understand.
“Shadows are round because of the shape of the sun. If the sun were shaped like a chicken, we’d be looking a chicken shadows right now”. It takes me a moment or two to contemplate this intriguing chicken reference, and I imagine a giant glowing ball of fire with a big beak and dangling things.
I go back the studio, inspired, and thinking about chickens. It turns out that “Light Walks” were developed by Bob Miller, an artist come scientist and long term collaborator at the Exploratotium. His exhibits documented his fascination with light, and many are still on display. My favorite is the sun painting. Two weeks later my twitter feed is full of partial eclipse shaped colanders and I am reminded again of the big chicken shaped sun.
