![]() ![]() The eye goes back and forth between the thing being sketched and the page. It is what you do, for example, when sketching from life. This type of switching back and forth is common in making art. The light needs to be on while actively tracing, but in many cases it is necessary to turn it off in order to properly see the progress of one’s handiwork. ![]() When you use a light table to draw, the process involves the periodic turning on and off of the light source. ![]() But for me, their real magic lies in seeing through opaque paper and tracing a normally hidden subject.) (In a strange inversion, light tables are also used to review x-ray slides. My fascination with the anomalous upward-shining beam of the light table arises mostly from its deceivingly simple function: in short, the ability to see through an opaque material-an x-ray machine without the harmful radiation. It is the unnatural radiance of a tanning bed. It is the hot sunlight reflected from the surface of a swimming pool in summer. It is the same light that shines up on John Travolta’s face when he opens up the mysterious suitcase in Pulp Fiction. And yet the glow of a light table is also compelling. We’re not used to light directed at us from below, and so these tabletop boxes can cause discomfort. It throws light up onto the face and creates an unsettling glaring effect. The glow of a light table-the kind used for drafting and art-is eerie. The exhibit is on display through August 15. This essay first appeared in the program book accompanying “ Beginnings: Drawing Early Architecture ,” an exhibit on display at MIT. ![]()
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