Light and Mirrors
Posted by: Craig Bunch
What was the first reference source? I mean before dictionaries and encyclopedias, before books and libraries, before the spoken or written word, perhaps even before the dawn of humankind?
I would like to suggest, in all seriousness, light itself. Of course, light is much more than a reference source; it is a natural phenomenon, an essential ingredient for most forms of life, a tool, and (in cosmic terms) only recently available in a variety of man-made forms. Let me put forth just a few of its uses as a reference source for the visually inclined: a means of recognizing and making sense of forms at a distance, a means of distinguishing colors, and an essential ingredient in all visually-based reading. My repeated use of “means” suggests that these uses of light are more in the nature of tools; I can’t help but think, though, that I am a living, learning World Book Luxopedia or a Luxopedia Americana. My wife works in an art museum (The Menil Collection in Houston) whose naturally lit galleries provide her (and any visitor so inclined) a never-ending series of differing takes on the art there, much of it permanently installed. The time of day, angle of the sun, and degree and type of cloud cover ensure that each view will differ at least subtly from any other. So in a real sense, the light is providing an encyclopedic view of each painting or sculpture, constantly updated. Monet, perhaps above all painters, recognized this as he painted the same view repeatedly, but each time in different light. There is no definitive view, for just as the light always changes, each viewer brings to the encounter a unique background and way of seeing.
Mirrors provide my second, and much briefer, example. They are something most of us consult many times each day. They allow us to see how we look to ourselves and, by implication, to others. Although we may be in front of the mirror just because we happen to be brushing our teeth or washing our hands, we often consult the mirror for specific bits of information: are we having a bad hair day? Is our tie on straight? And long before the ancient Greeks and Egyptians were consulting their mirrors, prehistoric humankind and perhaps even other species were learning something of themselves as they peered into a calm lake or shallow puddle. Yes, mirrors can distort, but they can also increase light.
