The celebration of the International Day of Light provides us with a great opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of the culture of light, from the Association of Authors of Illumination -AAI- and the Professional Association of Lighting Designers -APDI-, we have invited leading creators from the fields of art, design, theatre, photography and architecture to share their views and opinions on this important initiative and on the role that light plays in their lives and professions.
THE LIGHT FOR JUAN ANTONIO MAYORGA RUANO
- UNESCO has proclaimed 16 May as International Day of Light. What is your opinion of this initiative?
If a day like this becomes a day of celebration of light and reflection on its many aspects – anthropological, cultural, scientific, economic… – it is a good thing.
- How important is it to improve public understanding of the central role that light plays in our daily lives?
We associate light with life. When we are looking for a house, its luminosity is one of the first things we usually look at. We are able to pay high prices to enjoy the offers that technology makes us of other lights than the sun. We know that light affects our moods and that operating theaters can’t function if the lights go out… However, light being so important in our lives, many – including myself – know too little about it. For example, about the cost, in economic or environmental terms, of lighting the house in which we live or the building in which we work.
- What properties of light do you value most on a personal level?
As much as possible, I try to live in natural light. When I don’t have this one, I want the light to be warm and cheerful. I know this is an understatement, but it means a lot to me when it comes to choosing.
- And on an artistic level? What role does light play in your work?
The light is fundamental in my montages. I have had the good fortune to work with Juan Gómez Cornejo and Miguel Ángel Camacho, both of whom I consider poets and playwrights of light. With light, they are able to tell stories and build characters, language, spaces and times. And, above all, they are capable of creating meaning.
- From your experience would you say that light is an art or a science?
I consider Gómez-Cornejo and Camacho to be both artists and scientists of light. His ability to create poetry on stage derives from a very precise technical and material knowledge.
Juan Antonio Mayorga Ruano was born in Madrid in April 1965.
In 1988 he graduated in Philosophy and Mathematics, he is the director of the Chair of Performing Arts at the University Carlos III of Madrid, where he currently directs the Master’s Degree in Theatre Creation.
His extensive and award-winning dramatic work has been performed and translated in the main European theatres. Among others, he has won the National Theatre Award (2007), the National Award for Dramatic Literature (2013), Valle-Inclán (2009), Ceres (2013), La Barraca (2013), Max Award for Best Author (2006, 2008 and 2009) and Best Adaptation (2008 and 2013) and the Europe Award for New Theatrical Realities (2016).
In April 2018 he was elected member of the Real Academia Española occupying the letter “M”.
Among his latest works as a playwright and director we can highlight Reykjavik and The Cartographer.
GERARDO SANZ
