Can we talk about the way galleries light digital art?

I was at this small gallery in Portland last weekend, the one tucked behind that vintage shop on Hawthorne. They had a projected piece that was absolutely washed out because the track lighting above it was hitting the screen at a bad angle. The artist was standing right there looking frustrated. On the other side of the room they had a big OLED panel showing a looping animation and it looked amazing because they had dimmed everything else around it. So it got me thinking - when you're showing digital work in a physical space, is it better to go all in on the screen quality and control the lighting hard, or should you embrace the room as part of the piece and let the projection fight with the ambient light? I've seen both approaches fail and succeed. Which side do you lean on for your own showcase setups?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_walker7d ago

Used to think dark rooms were the only way but Portland changed my mind on that.

dakota_nelson437d ago

Dark rooms work but good dimmers let you dial in the sweet spot without going full cave.