The Light Is Never So Interesting

The night light embodies the taste of the city. The night scenes of the city not only represent the pace of the urban development but also have become a window to display the city’s cultural heritage. Light culture is an important part of the personality of many international cities. Creative city lights have many functions， they highlight the characteristics of the city， add colors to the lives of the residents and critically， enhance the competitiveness of the urban marketing， which become an important component of the soft power of the sustainable city.

As China’s foremost ancient cultural city， Beijing should have its own light culture and unique urban night. Thus， Beijing International Lighting Festival came into being. Switch on Beijing International Lighting Festival 2012 was held from August 10 to August 19 in Temple of Earth in Beijing.

With the rapid development of the urban landscape， how to reduce the energy consumption and how to realize sustainable development is the priority task of a city. Lying in the critical period of urban construction， between keeping ‘the old’ or making way for‘the new’， Beijing pays more attention to the cultivation of urban culture and the enhancement of cultural soft power. Peng Xiang， Director of Yonghe Park Administrative Committee， Zhongguancun Science Park said: “Our light should make our city more attractive， promote our tourism industry and cultural innovation， and make cities more livable. Thus， we want the creative light of Beijing as an important reason to attract more people at home and abroad to Beijing.”

Ms Ding Ping， Partner/Chief Designer， Lighting Partnership International (China) and Chairman of LDDC， as one of the curators of “Switch on Beijing” International Lighting Fes- tival， told China’ Foreign Trade that France Lyon Festival attracts more than 3 million audience every year. The artists express the concepts that all things have both spirits and nothing is impossible through the philosophy thinking about light， people and objects. So with deep historical heritage， Beijing International Lighting Festival has a unique cultural charm.

During “Switch on Beijing” International Lighting Festival， the designers from home and overseas use their wisdom， creativity and attitudes to life， to present an interesting， interactive and funny visual feast full of design and inspiration through light as the carrier， the night as the background， nature as canvas， the art as their means of expression and technology as their support.

Wu Xijun， deputy director of the Beijing Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Center， stressed that a city filled with a better expectation should have three characteristics: first， wisdom， second， be comfortable， and the third， be with beauty. The architecture， the landscape and the lighting compose a surrounding that makes people feel as harmonious and pleasing， as the city is beautiful. From his point of view， lighting as a cultural creative industry， not only improves the quality of life and enhances the quality of urban civilization but also promotes the basic industries of the whole society.

Many designers who attended the previous two sessions continued to display at this year’s festival their exquisite works. Additionally， more excellent designers joined this event. The quantity of works has exceeded last year and so has the quality.

Designers make use of the environmentally-friendly materials and waste productions to create various creative lighting works. According to the topography located in every corner of the Temple of Earth， exhibitors design pieces of works with trees， ancient architecture， or lawn， they have their own separate space. These works embody the fusion of Beijing design resources， hi-tech environmental energysaving and express the concept of the relation among human， society and earth. Here， light is no longer neglected. The design could not only make it shining， but show its unique appeal as an art form.

The ACT team of designers from Belgium and Switzerland brought an installation named “OVO”. Designer Koert Vermeulen told China’s Foreign Trade that OVO is a multi-sensory work of art. RGB-LED with low power creates the lighting effects that make this egg-shaped sculpture magnificent. The piece selected is a special processed timber-Accoya ? Wood. They used the improved technique of wood acetylating so that needle bush is transformed into a kind of longevous timber that is waterproof and anti-light. The work of OVO can guarantee that it does not rot and deform for 50 years.

Koert was very excited at the porticipation: “OVO is the meaning of ‘egg’in Latin，” he said， “The shape symbolizes the universe that gives birth to the land. We are very pleased that this work can be displayed at the Temple of Earth. In Chinese traditional culture， the Temple of Earth lies between heaven and earth， just like what Chinese tradition culture said that the position is like the balance between “Yin” and“Yang”. The device applies modern light techniques. So the combination of ancient and modern is just like from the past to the future. When you walk into the “OVO”， then you could experience the perfect fusion of light and shadow， water and fog. The bustle and excitement of the audience could inject a lot of enthusiasm to this works. I think they are very fond of it.”

Coming from France， young light designers Helen Eastwood and Laurent Brunt participated in Lyon Lighting Festival many times. Here， they brought their artwork named“PRANA”. It means “the breath of life”that the energy flows in the body with the rhythm of breathing. This installation uses the LED screen interacting with the audience. The combination of mysterious quiet environment and lighting devices allows the audience to think about the meaning of life.

Here， in addition to appreciating the artworks from international designers， the audience can enjoy the arts integrating Chinese traditional culture and foreign cultures. Mr. Fang Zhenning， a famous curator， also took his LED lighting installation works — “Origin”to exhibit at this festival. He introduced his works to China’s Foreign Trade， his debut design in Beijing， which is based on the thinking on the origin of the universe and order. “The Temple of Earth， which symbolizes the earth in the Chinese concept of hemispherical dome， is the second largest of the four Temples of Beijing behind only the Temple of Heaven. I use the ordinary materials to make the device that can make people muse. When the sun falls in the Western Hills， and the lights are lit at the Temple of Earth， while on the lawn under the red wall at the south outside the Hall of Abstinence， there is a giant device ‘Origin’ that implies the magnificent landscape in the universe.”

“Lightopia” is designed by Mr. Dongliang Xu， who will go to La Biennale di Venezia soon. Xu used the light to create the lightopia under the tree. Through the input of energy， the lightopia appears either overt or covert， either deformed or complete， either open or close， which presents the energy interaction. During the interactive process between the tree for centuries that absorbs the nutrient in the soil and the lightopia that was controlled by manual， people are encouraged to understand the meaning of behavior and the existence of artificial light.

The Festival also attracted a number of talented designers and students from China design institutions. They injected great enthusiasm in the lighting festival with their fresh， unique and possessed modern concept. Last year， Central Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture launched a piece of work — Poyang Lake. This year， the new works named “Harmony” with the theme of environmental protection. Ms. Yating Zhang， Director of Architectural and Environmental Lighting design Research Center of CAFA interpreted its meaning. Buddha said: to see a world in a wild flower， a floating life in a chunk of wood， a heaven in a piece of grass. She thought that human as the lord of creation is also a part of the earth. A flower， a piece of grass and a drop of water can compose one world. Surrounding us， there exists thousands of worlds. We should take actions for protecting the world. But with evolution of human civilization and the development of the economy， human seizes more from nature， and brings more destruction， but neglects the environmental protection， which leads to the form of various natural disasters.

“Switch on Beijing” International Lighting Festival is organized by Yonghe Park Administrative Committee， Zhongguancun Technology Park， Dongcheng District， Beijing， and sponsored by Beijing Oriental Cinda Asset Management Corporation， and held by Lighting Design Partnership International (China) and LDDC. It is a lighting party combining art， installation， technology， and interactive lighting， and reflects green energy-saving and innovative designs. The Festival was held for two years with good social response. The two sessions attracted more than 300，000 visitors.