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« 2026. # 4 (190)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 4 (190), 1209—1214

UDK 730.01:(535.3:628.9)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2026.04.1209

  • Received: 12.05.2026
  • Accepted: 15.05.2026
  • Published: 23.09.2026

LIGHT SCULPTURE AS A SPATIAL FORM OF AN IMMATERIAL STRUCTURE: THE PERCEPTION OF MATERIALITY

OROBETS Roman

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7448-7018
  • Postgraduate student of the Lviv National Academy of Arts,
  • 38, V. Kubiyovych St., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: romkooro@lnam.edu.ua

Abstract. The paper examines the phenomenon of «light sculpture» as a form of an immaterial spatial structure emerging at the intersection of art, science, and technology. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, light sculpture encompasses the fields of optics, philosophy, aesthetics, and technology, offering new models for conceptualizing materiality, space, and perception. In contrast to classical sculpture, which is constituted through material form and mass, light sculpture constructs volume through the interaction of light, space, and the viewer, thereby transcending the physical boundaries of the object. At the same time, light functions not only as a means of visualization but also as an autonomous form-generating medium. As a result, light sculpture emerges not merely as a form of aesthetic experimentation, but as a way of rethinking the very nature of light and its potential as an immaterial sculptural medium.

The relevance of the study is the need for a theoretical understanding of light as a self-sufficient formative element in contemporary art. The central problem of the research lies in defining the ontological status of light sculpture, determining its boundaries within the system of artistic practices, the terminological framework associated with this phenomenon. The aim of the study is to identify the specific characteristics of light sculpture as an autonomous artistic form, as well as to substantiate the possibility of the existence of sculpture devoid of material structure.

The results of the study allow light sculpture to be considered not as a variation of traditional three-dimensional form, but as an autonomous type of spatial art, in which form is identified within flows of light, and materiality — as a perceptual manifestation within the viewer’s consciousness. The obtained generalizations contribute to the further development of theoretical discourse in the field of light art and may be applied in shaping new approaches to the classification of contemporary artistic practices within the context of contemporary sculpture.

Keywords: sculpture; light art; light sculpture; immateriality; space; light; perception; form-generation.

REFERENCES

  • Japaridze, N. (2025, March 28). Light art: Illumination as a sculptural medium. Composition Gallery. Retrieved from: https://www.composition.gallery/journal/light-art-illumination-as-a-sculptural-medium/ (Last accessed: 01.11.2025).
  • Coulter, G. (2016). Understanding light art in a multidisciplinary context. European Scientific Journal. Special Edition (Pp. 238—250).
  • Krauss, R. (1979). Sculpture in the expanded field. October, 8, 30—44. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.23­07/778224
  • Nauman, B. (2022). Neons Corridors Rooms. Exhibition catalogue. Pirelli HangarBicocca.
  • Rocha, A., Almeida, T., & Machado, G. (2021). The threshold between the material and immaterial light: Notes on luminescence and dark environments. Arts, 10 (3), Article 56. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10030056
  • Riskin, S. (2022). Official website. Retrieved from: https://www.sethriskin.com/(Last accessed: 01.11.2025).
  • (1993). The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry. SFCI archive: Seth Riskin’s light dance on CNN [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_OgOV7pHkw.
  • Katzberg, L.M. (2009). Cultures of light: Contemporary trends in museum exhibition (Doctoral dissertation, University of Amsterdam). University of Amsterdam Repository. Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.310269 (Last accessed: 01.11.2025).
  • APB Speakers. (n. d.). Light dance — Seth Riskin [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck5CdEcuaJ0 (Last accessed: 01.11.2025).
  • Kitsinelis, S. (2016). Light sources: Basics of lighting technologies and applications (2nd ed.). CRC Press.

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