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New PBS Web Series Gives "Light" To Emerging Artforms

Artists Aurora Crowley and Patrick Rochon discuss their passion for light painting.

What makes the medium of light painting so accessible and rewarding is that anyone with a camera capable of long exposure and some patience is able to create visually enticing imagery. But that’s not to say all light paintings are created equal. Some of our favorite light painting projects over the past year have been such innovative creative masterpieces as a visualization of airplane flight patterns, a music video from All India Radio, and this series of mathematically contrived artworks—and these are but a few of the bunch.

For the inaugural episode in their new Off Book web series, focusing on artistic genres that are expanding the definition of art, PBS catches up with light painters Aurora Crowley and Patrick Rochon, who explain their backgrounds and their usage of light painting, primarily as it applies to fashion photography.

The self-proclaimed “brothers” fascination with the electric medium centers around the fact that their work is constantly in flux because it’s nearly impossible to recreate the same image. They’re also always coming up with new ideas for “paintbrushes,” including electric torches and makeshift “lenses” fabricated from light gels and flashlights.

You can find a selection of both artists’ work in the slideshow above, or watch Patrick’s latest multimedia fashion shoot Supernovae below. Read our light painting How-To if you’re curious on how to get started, and stay tuned to PBS’s Off Book series for more enlightenment.