FADE:
The Dark Side of Light is
a 1,200 sq.ft. traveling exhibit created
in collaboration with the Getty
Conservation Institute that blends science and
art by exploring the destructive effects of light exposure
on priceless museum treasures and family photos. It also
offers suggestions for mitigating the damage. FADE’s interactive
exhibits explain the nature of light and why it permanently
changes the appearance of many objects.
What can guests do and learn in the FADE exhibit?
FADE’s interactive exhibits explain
the nature of light and why it permanently changes the
appearance of many objects. Using their own energy, guests
can create traveling waves of different lengths to better
understand the relationship between wavelength and energy.
Then through an AV program, guests can zoom in and learn
how light damages materials at the atomic level.
The exhibit
also features a series of projected images which first
appear and then slowly fade from view. The selected
images span over 100 years and convey how photographs
safeguard both personal and collectively held memories.
Visitors see further dramatic evidence of light damage
through photographs, works of art and a collection
of everyday items. “This
exhibit serves to increase awareness about how we’re
losing our past through light exposure.” said Science
Center curator Ken Phillips. “Creating this exhibit
with the Getty Conservation Institute, which has an excellent
research lab focused on this topic, was a rare and exceptional
opportunity.”
Elements of the Exhibit:
- Exhibit-1: Lift the flap on a reproduction of a Rousseau painting
to see the effects
of light exposure.
- Exhibit-2: This continuous video shows the relationship between
light intensity and
time of exposure in causing photographs to fade.
- Exhibit-3: Visitors create their own mechanical waves to discover
the relationship
between energy and wavelength.
- Exhibit-4: Visitors use a light source to explore the basic
behavior of light. By bouncing the light from a
mirror visitors learn about reflection. A glass
prism lets them see light bend as it crosses the boundary
between thin air and the thicker prism glass. A diffraction
grating breaks the light into the colors of the rainbow
so that visitors can understand that light is composed
of many frequencies. An absorbing material turns colors
when exposed to light for a short time helping visitors
to understand that light packs a punch and affects
the behavior of materials.
- Exhibit-5: This continuous video shows how light actually
damages objects by taking the visitor down to the atomic
level using a clever animation.
- Exhibit-6: This interactive exhibit allows visitors
to experiment with the effects of UV protective Plexiglas
- Exhibit-7: At this interactive exhibit visitors can
illuminate a painting with different frequencies of
light in order to evaluate the difference in viewing
quality.
- Exhibit-8: At this interactive exhibit visitors can explore
the concept of “relative contrast sensitivity” by
sliding identical photographs of the famous Conway
Castle into areas having different contrasting backgrounds.
Visitors can also view a continuous video that challenges
them to make decisions about which of two images actually
is darker in shading.
- Exhibit-9: This micro-enclosure holds a replica of
the worlds first know photograph and demonstrates how
exhibit conservators and curators create oxygen-free
environments for the display of high value objects.
How
much does FADE cost to rent?
Rental
Fee: $18,000 for a three-month venue, $30,000
for six months
Additional Costs: Inbound shipping (one truck)
How
long does it take to install and dismantle?
FADE:
The Dark Side of Light installs in 4 days with a 2-person
crew and dismantles in 4 days with a 2-person crew. This
will include one supervisor who travels with the exhibit
to oversee installation and dismantle.
For more
detailed information, please contact:
Luke Fernandez
Special Exhibits Coordinator
California Science Center
700 State Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90037
Phone:
213-744-7421 or
Email: lfernandez@cscmail.org
