Material Differences | Replace first sensations Without asking why Do it without caution |
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ome materials are ephemeral, while others last for decades. The materials that comprise objects of daily and ritual life are significant, especially in the manor in which they modify light.
When radiant energy strikes an object, it can be reflected, absorbed or transmitted. Generally all three of these modifications will occur simultaneously, the proportion of each further differentiated by wavelength. This complex interaction is the basis for the surface appearance of things, and is infinite in its permutations.
Generally the appearance of a surface is determined by the wavelengths and angular distribution of reflected light. An object reflects light either directly at the surface or from within the bulk material. For a perfectly smooth surface, the angle of reflection at the surface is equal to the angle of incidence, commonly called the 'specular' angle. Imperfections in the surface will cause some of the light to be reflected at angles away from the specular.
“As with all my work, whether it's a leaf on a rock or ice on a rock, I'm trying to get beneath the surface appearance of things. Working the surface of a stone is an attempt to understand the internal energy of the stone.” - Andy Goldsworthy
