The Art of Shadow and Light

The real key to making shadow art isn’t the shadow itself, but the light and the objects blocking the light that eventually come together to make an image in the darkness. That’s why it’s actually a bit surprising that so few of the artists working with this format have experimented with objects that do not block the light, but instead just manipulate it.

That’s why this design by Azerbaijan artist Rashad Alakbarov is simply so wonderful. The colored glass pieces block the light, using the same concept as shadow art, but the result is something so much more beautiful – an entire painting created with nothing more than a colored light.

Like other artists operating in this niche, Alakbarov has made his share of wonderful shadow installations as well.

Azerbaijan is a fairly small country that is not known for its fine art community, but Alakbarov is making quite a name for himself and may soon become an internationally renowned artist for his skillful installations.

While this is great news for the artist, it could also be huge for the country as a whole, inspiring children throughout the nation to realize that they too can become world-recognized artists if they just follow their dreams. Although the country has had a handful of successful artists come from within its borders, few Azerbaijani contemporary artists have emerged in recent years and every new notable artist from the country is worth celebrating.

For those of us who live in a large country, particularly in a massive city, this is something easy to take for granted, but the importance of role models in various industries is something that can’t be overstated.

While the rest of artist’s illusions are strong as well, I, for one hope, he makes more colored light illusions as they are something truly unique that will really help him stand out from the crowd. Not to mention, I just like looking at them and I hope you guys do too!

29 Replies to “The Art of Shadow and Light”

  1. This looks very familiar… either I have seen this on this site before or somewhere else. Are you sure this hasn’t already been posted here?

  2. the bottom four – though kinda cool; its been done before
    but the first one! way to reinvent shadow art – Love the colours

  3. Number 1 is definitely my favourite – absolutely incredible! I can’t imagine how you’d go about designing that…

    They’re all amazing though. Definitely a very skilled artist!

  4. The colored instillation is out of control, it’s like stained glass all hopped up on goofballs.
    First?
    Love This Site!!!

  5. I’d say it takes even more creativity for coloured light than shadow illusions because there’s mixing and blending and the right placement of colours to worry about as well as just the outline of the shadow.

  6. Beautiful! The one with colors is a leap to another dimension. The painting on the wall is one piece of art and the pieces of glass the light is shining through is also a piece of art unto itself. Imaginative and I appreciate the person who created this![img]colored tea[/img]

  7. The fact all the glass pieces a shaped like paper aeroplanes is a great misdirection as you would think that was the art until you saw the wall.

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