Color Pigment Crevice

  The purpose of this experiment, simulating museum interior lighting and display with computer-generated renderings, is to visualize the range of contrast and brightness in a hybrid environment with natural and artificial light, compared to that perceived by the sensory faculty. Although paintings and sculptures are an important component of the experiment, the study did not look into the physiology of the artworks. The project focuses on the different results from controlling interior finishes, architectural proportions, and spatial depth in a museum room. 

 

Ernst Gombrich talks about the importance of light in rendering layer and form. Contrast is a result of light being reflected from different pigments of the drawing, also referred to as "chiaroscuro" which explains that scale of pixelation, texture, finish and hue are all indicators of contrast between light and dark. Rods and cones in the retina receive signals and then project these signals to the brain in the visual cortex to be consciously registered. In addition to the physical behavior of light, how the artwork is perceived also depends on tendencies of psychological consciousness. Then how does the visual experience in the real setting differ from that in a simulated virtual environment under similar lighting conditions? And how can the differences be measured and quantified?