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022


DETAILS [editorial]


Paul James, editor, writes: National Galleries of Scotland are to be congratulated for making the brave decision to bite the bullet and go all-out for LED throughout their galleries in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edin- burgh. Having access to spectral analysis software for any light source gave the conservators a direct comparison that revealed that the problems with LVTH sources – the peaks at the red end of the spectrum and thermal issues – were more damaging than problems with the blue spikes of LED. Studies touted around arguing against the use of LED in museums are based on technology that is five years old. The fact is, it is clear that for LEDs with spectral power distri- butions that closely follow tungsten halogen lighting, the overall impact on light-sensitive materials will be lessened compared to traditional light sources at equal lux levels and duration. There is no UV, no IR. In fact, both the short and long wavelength ends of the SPDs are more limited than tungsten halogen sources and clearly much more so than even filtered daylight. Experimentally, this seems true but it’s important to realise that initially at time=0 there is no difference. As time proceeds, a vulnerable colourant begins to change under both illuminants. The most important questions is NOT when do the two colourants diverge, but when do they diverge enough to be statistically significant AND visually discernable? We have now reached the point where LED passes each of the three tests for museum lighting: visual – with no sacrifice in CRI, the viewer can now make sense of the artworks at low lux levels and looking the way the artist intended; conservation – the damage potential is now much reduced; cost of ownership - not just energy consumption and initial price, but also lifetime. In this context life is defined not by on / off but life of light quality.


LED might not be the perfect answer in every instance but the message is clear - white LEDs pose no risks above and beyond filtered tung- sten halogen. If there is one sector where LEDs can truly make a difference for the good, it is for museums.


Pete Brewis, deputy editor, writes: As neon the neon sign enters its centenary year, pehaps it’s time to re-assess one of our oldest light sources. Neon has fallen out of favour over recent years and the reason, of course, is LED. The enthusiasm for solid state - for its flexibility and huge potential for development - has been key to its rapid adoption across all areas of lighting. Whereas LED can be adapted on site to suit ongoing changes to an installation project, neon arrives as a fixed entity; a prefabricated form created by craftsmen for a specific role. As late-night curry houses and take-aways have switched to cheap LED signage to lure in their customers, so the bread-and-butter income that


once secured the success of neon workshops has faded away, leading many once perennial producers to close. But it would be wrong to dismiss cold cathode (as we more formally know it) completely. Zaha Hadid, never one to accept second best, deemed it the most appropriate solution for the sweeping curves of the ceiling at Glasgow’s Riverside Museum and, treated properly, it can prove a very efficient and highly recyclable lighting solution. While many are quick to dismiss the idea of a light source they associate with fast food and strip joints, proponents of neon will remind you of its more romantic side: a lightning bolt harnessed in a tube; the electrical excitement of the very air we breath. Indeed, in person, there is something hugely appealing about this precise pipework of light, an af- fection heightened by its decline from everyday life. It’s perhaps for this reason that neon has found a new enthusiastic following in the art world and, as part of this issue’s extended look at Light Art, we meet two individuals that have whole-heartedly taken up the neon cause: interior designer Philip Oakley has turned his home into a showcase for the light source, allowing customers to see how well pieces work in more domestic settings, and artist Richard William Wheater who has gone as far as to establish a special Neon Workshop facility allowing the creative community and opportunity to discover neon for themselves - and perhaps find fresh ways to bring it back to the fore.


Editorial Editor Paul James


(p.james@mondiale.co.uk)


Deputy Editor Pete Brewis (p.brewis@mondiale.co.uk)


Advertising Advertising Manager Jason Pennington


(j.pennington@mondiale.co.uk)


Advertising Sales John-Paul Etchells (jp.etchells@mondiale.co.uk)


Subscriptions Laura McLaughlin


(l.mclaughlin@mondiale.co.uk)


Production David Bell (d.bell@mondiale.co.uk)


Dan Seaton (d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk)


Mel Robinson (m.robinson@mondiale.co.uk)


Chairman Damian Walsh


(d.walsh@mondiale.co.uk)


Finance Director Amanda Giles


(a.giles@mondiale.co.uk)


Credit Control Donna Barlow


(d.barlow@mondiale.co.uk)


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