In the reading excerpt by Moholy, Vision in Motion, he describes objects being photographed as light modulators.  Thinking of the object as not a thing by itself but as a tool that manipulates, catches, reflects, bounces, distorts and absorbs light.  Anything can be called a light modulator, including the human face.  Our first mini-assignment in class was to manipulate a material and just observe the shadows that can be created from it.  I created a “wheaties”-looking object using watercolor paper and linear cuts.  I found that by having many different light sources (by accident) actually created a more interesting shadow, with parts of it sharper and blurred depending on the intensity of the light source.

This light source layering effect reminded me very much of performance theater, where a scene is controlled very much by the lighting used.  This may be something I want to explore since my studio project is to design a performing arts center this quarter.  I am still not quite sure how I want to explore this – possibly through the use of paper, various cuts, or origami techniques.  I tested out a few origami tessellations and noticed how the larger the fold, the more dramatic the shadows are within the objects are.  I may try to test out different materials, such as tissue paper, mesh, or fabric to see what results I can get.