Revealing the Story with Light, with Steven Rosen and Ted Mather (Podcast)
Is lighting art or science?
If you’re a curator tasked with lighting design, where do you start? Is lighting about light, or about shadows? If an exhibit ain't lit, is it there? When is a lighting designer's job actually about not lighting things?
Lighting designers Steven Rosen and Ted Mather (Available Light) join host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) on Making the Museum, the podcast, to discuss "Revealing the Story with Light".
Along the way: how an exhibition is like a theatrical stage, and a reminder that design is a team sport.
REMASTERED: This episode is one of the first, from April 2023. It has been audio remastered to recover sound lost from mic problems in the original. This new version was uploaded on July 2, 2024. Enjoy!
Talking Points:
1. What shadows reveal
2. The ABC’s of Lighting
a. Ambient Luminescence
b. Focal Glow
c. Play of Brilliance
3. HELP! I’m a curator tasked with a lighting design—where do I start?
4. Is lighting art or science?
5. Photon or wave?
How to Listen:
Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revealing-the-story-with-light-with-steven/id1674901311?i=1000607108924
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MGBR5tVdG9uTW7NFTOVXs?si=4kfa_nIxRtK7lRi0HYWPbA
About MtM:
Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger.
This podcast is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture. Learn about the firm's creative work at: https://www.cgpartnersllc.com
Guest Bios:
Steven Rosen, President and Creative Director, Available Light: Merging performance lighting techniques with traditional non-theatrical environments launched Steven’s career and his founding of Available Light over 30 years ago. From Museum exhibits to immersive architecture to trade shows, the fun never stops—it helps that he works with some of the planet’s most talented lighting aficionados. The originality and grand scale of Steven’s award-winning designs are evident in many one-of-a-kind award-winning projects as: The Neural Climber interactive at the Franklin Institute, Ocean Hall for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the International Spy Museum in DC, and Chicago MSI’s U-505. He is passionate about supporting the lighting community.
Steven is a member of Praxis Museum Projects Group, a "network of professionals, each of whom brings an expertise to the process of creating exhibitions and cultural experiences in collaboration with exhibit designers, architects, and museums".
Ted Mather, Managing Principal, New York Studio, Available Light:By design, Ted Mather’s career resides at the intersection of theatrical, entertainment, and architectural lighting. Ted’s dramatic flair and technical expertise merge seamlessly to create striking, dynamic environments and state-of-the-art installations. Ted’s decades of experience—working around the globe—means that his creative vision is balanced with what is truly practical and possible. Ted has transformed the Architainment industry with groundbreaking, award-winning projects such as The International Spy Museum, the National WWII Museum, and the National Museum of African American Music. Ted began his training at the University of Illinois and received his MFA in Stage design from NYU.
Show Links:
Steven Rosen
https://www.availablelight.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-rosen-fiald-70a2593/
https://www.praxisexhibits.com
https://www.praxisexhibits.com/posts/89tp8gajbu2bvd4lnn9rqaf1z1eorm-a7w52
https://www.businessoflight.org
https://www.businessoflight.org/who-we-are.html
Ted Mather
https://www.availablelight.com/team/ted-mather
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-mather-8963156/
https://www.inparkmagazine.com/etc-from-theme-parks-to-everywhere/?fbclid=IwAR1uXhTUU_HqS07ML2FR8GzChSaXZj93JpPYM0i7mPn4003hCvbWVeO-Twc
MtM Show Contact:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger
alger@cgpartnersllc.com
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com
Newsletter:
Liked the show? Try the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a one-minute email on exhibition planning and design for museum leaders, exhibition teams and visitor experience professionals. Subscribe here: https://www.makingthemuseum.com
