Light isn’t just the stuff of optics and physics – the flashing of a beam, the glow of a diode, the illumination of space – it’s also a cornerstone of human culture, tradition, and faith.
This is hardly surprising, given how central light has been to the most fundamental of human behaviours and endeavours – fr om growing crops, to regulating sleep and waking, to keeping wild animals at bay with angry orange flames.
Light was existential – which naturally meant it also became revered and sacrosanct, a potent metaphor in every aspect of human culture – love, marriage, religion, art, literature, and more.
In short, light not only supports life, it enriches it. In this piece, we explore what that means in a modern world wh ere Maytoni enables you to command and control light as you please - from to waymarkers in , and everything in between.
Wave or particle – a glaring problem?
But whilst we all know (and love) light, there has been some pretty furious debate, even in very recent years, over what it actually is, and what it’s made of.
That’s pretty mind-blowing for something that supports life on our planet. After all, we’ve known what our water’s made of for years. Ditto our air. Ditto our food (mostly).
But light? For some scientists it was a particle, for others a wave. Current thinking proposes that it has now been .
But we shouldn’t be surprised that the nature of light sparked such intense discussion. A force so elemental and mysterious is bound to be a source of fascination for questing minds!
Light as celebration
Whether particle or wave, light has always been at the heart of a good party.
From the fires our ancestors danced around (and the many indigenous cultures that continue this tradition), to the sparkling we at Maytoni create, to the strobes, gobos, and laser displays in nightclubs and discos – and yes, even the humble glitterball – skilful use of light has been helping festivities go with a swing since time immemorial.
And there’s a very good reason for this. As humans, we’re naturally attracted to light, because our subconscious equates it with the ability to more easily find food and shelter in order to survive.
If you’ve ever wondered why backlit advertising hoardings, exhibition displays, and graphics - or indeed, just an attractively lit bistro or hotel, like these – instinctively draw our attention, this is the answer.
Light in religion
So pivotal, in fact, is light to the human condition, that many of the great religions of the world venerate it both in the faith itself, and in its practice.
‘Let there be light!’ proclaims the book of Genesis in the Bible – and the earth moves from being ‘dark and formless’ to being a place of life, according to Christian belief.
The Hindu festival of is none other than, in English, the Festival of Lights, symbolising the triumph of light over darkness – or, in other words, the victory of good over evil. (It’s no coincidence, incidentally, that this festival is a riot of colour – colour can only be discerned when there is light.)
In Islam, light’s role in representing guidance is so fundamental that the Koranic word for it – – is also an alternative name for God.
The light of learning; art, literature, architecture
In fact, virtuous light is everywhere in the human experience.
The great period of scientific and academic advancement in Europe in the eighteenth century was called ‘The Enlightenment’. The light of learning literally banished the darkness of ignorance.
Devotional art has long featured light as the manifestation of a deity, and church architecture has traditionally made striking use of light in stained glass windows.
Artist J. M. W. Turner, for his part, became completely obsessed with light – in fact, many of his later paintings are attempts to capture nothing but light, and in its purest form (check out his , for example).
And in literature, too, light often represents truth, goodness, or noble aspirations. The title of the famous English poem Vitai Lampada by Sir Henry Newbolt translates as ‘The Torch of life’ – the eternal light that inspires every generation, in the face of adversity, to ‘Play up, play up, and play the game!’
Making light work
But what has magnified the allure of this subject way beyond what artists, writers, theologians, and architects could possibly have imagined, historically speaking, is not light itself, but lighting.
This is the ability to turn light into something controllable, manipulable, variable, subtle, nuanced – at the touch of a button, the turn of a knob, or the imperceptible impulse of a sensor.
To make it work with - not just against – shadow (‘Light and shade’ is an expression we’re all familiar with.)
To turn it into – as we at Maytoni have done - in its own right that can also set a for a restaurant or lobby.
And to create warm scintillas of comfort, ambiance, and security in the inky .
And though light itself has inspired awe, worship, and wonder in humankind since time began, the way forward now is not just to revere light, but to add value to how it is generated, designed, innovated, controlled, and made both practical and beautiful.
This is what Maytoni is all about. Let there be lighting!
