During today’s class I was particularly intrigued by the exercise we did with the Persian documents. We compared how the documents looked with the lights on and with the lights off. As a class, we concluded that there was a difference when the documents were looked upon under a different lighting.
Seeing as these documents were constructed in the 16th century, they were not created when electricity was invented. Present day individuals forget that a great percentage of the artwork they view is not in its intended situation from when it was created. For example, we read Shakespeare plays as if they were novels. However, Shakespeare never intended his plays to be read, rather they should have only been viewed as a performance. When we relate this information back to the Persian documents, our reaction when the lights were turned off is most likely how these pieces of art were viewed at the time of their creation. While candles and natural light existed in the 16th century, modern lighting has manipulated the way we view these documents in present day. It is interesting to think about how we view art and how it was intended to be seen when it was created.
I’ve always wondered about the ways artists intend to portray their pieces versus the ways in which they are viewed. Whether it be the lighting, as you mentioned, or the subject matter itself, I feel as if there is often times a gap between the way in which the piece is intended to be viewed versus the way in which it is actually viewed. I feel that this is true especially with older pieces of art, as the artists responsible for creating them aren’t around to explain how they intended for the piece to be portrayed.