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Joost van Santen	Inspiration

In 1970 I created my first colored glass windows in a church in the city of Hoogvliet. The moment the sun appeared, colors were projected into the room. These images of light, moving through space, fascinated me. From that time light determined my work.

In an experiment in my studio I blackened the windows leaving on a pane only a small slit through which sunlight could enter. The beam of light I saw reminded me of experiences in my youth when I saw light entering my room through a small hole in the curtains. And when I entered the attic an old farmhouse when a small bundle of light entered through the tiles. It also reminded me at the beam of light I saw in San Miniato al Monte, a church on the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, where a friend had taken me. When the Sun was low in the western sky, sunlight entered through a small window to be reflected in the mosaic with golden tiles at the back of the apse, and, although it was many years ago, the scene was imprinted indelibly in my memory.

The auditorium of the First Unitarian Church and School, Rochester (New York)		Light entering the interior of the tower of the Chapel of Notre Dame designed by Le Corbusier at Ronchamps.

My remembrance of light stem particularly from manifestations of it when it enters buildings through small rather than large openings. I was impressed by the light that enters the interior of the Chapel of Notre Dame designed by Le Corbusier at Ronchamps, Haute Saône, France, through splay-jambed and slot windows. I recall also the play of a ray of light in the Pennz Oil Building in Houston, Texas designed by Philip Johnson; the light entering through a slit in the roof of the Kimbell Art Museum at Fort Worth, Texas designed by Louis Kahn; the rosette windows in the cathedrals in France especially the Cathedral of Chartres that admit light through many small areas of colored glass. The buildings designed by Tadao Ando and other architects The glass roof designed by Bruno Taut.

Images in the three windows in my studio at 16:00 P.M

In the experiment 'Images from Light Space' (Studio, 1996), I installed color filters and reflectors in the three window frames of my studio. Daylight casts images of these filters and reflectors on to translucent screens, hung inside the windows. The projected images change continuously, depending on the season and the time of day. This experiment shows the essence of my work:' experiencing light as part of the universe'. See for more information 'Images from Light Space'

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The appearance of special light phenomena at certain dates is another theme of my work. I am inspired by such important buildings of mankind, so as the temples of Abu Simbal in Egypt, the Complex of Stonehenge in England and the Pyramid of Chitzen Itza in Mexico. The installations of James Turrell have influenced my work, especially his exposition in the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Holland April 9 to June 23, 1978 and his Roden Crater Project in Arizona. There are several visual artists working with light who inspired me. The existence of the Percent for Art Program in The Netherlands gave me the opportunity to realize projects with Light in architecture and in sculpture. A number of my works are to be found in Amsterdam.

The beautiful Dutch light influences the way many Dutch artists work. Painters as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jongkind, Dibbets etc. are famous for their use of light.

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Light Art integrated in Architecture	Amersfoort: Railway Station Emmen: Ordnance Survey Building Amsterdam: ING-bank Head Office Hilversum: Railway Station Den Haag: Palace of Justice Hillegom: Radiant light in church
Research and Experiments	Light Modules Images from Light Space
Light Sculptures	Ravensbrück Monument Four Light Sculptures Veldhoven: Landmark Sculptures
Identity	Curriculum Inspiration

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joostvansanten@wxs.nl