Illuminating Art & History for Future Generations: The Crucial Role of Lighting Design in Museums

Art museums are the guardians of our cultural heritage, stewards of our collective history and culture, entrusted with preserving and showcasing the timeless beauty of art throughout history. Each piece on display represents a chapter in the story of human creativity and expression. The museum’s role is not only to educate and inspire but rather go beyond mere exhibition of art; they are responsible for safeguarding these invaluable cultural artifacts for posterity.

Achieving this noble mission which entails meticulous attention to detail and dedication from all staff, conservators to docent. One often overlooked—yet vital—aspect of this responsible stewardship is proper and safe lighting design. There is no doubt that lighting plays a role at a utilitarian level, but it is also a key factor in preserving these treasures for future generations.

Conservators are the unsung heroes of the art world. They work tirelessly behind the scenes to repair, protect, and restore artworks. Part of their care includes monitoring and reducing the degradation of artworks caused by lighting—both natural and artificial. It’s for this reason that lighting designers must collaborate closely with conservators to ensure that their lighting choices align with the preservation needs of each piece. This collaboration helps strike a delicate balance between artistic presentation and conservation.

I spend my days doing just this. From working with priceless paintings to fragile textiles, my top priority is safety and preservation of the art. Although lighting technology today has evolved to address some of the unique demands of art conservation and preservation, it is still not a one-size-fits-all, fool-proof solution. Sometimes it means making lighting decisions based on what is best for the art long term instead of something more innovative or exciting. It is the role of the lighting designer to spend time understanding and appreciating each piece of artworks’ unique characteristics and needs and developing a lighting strategy that is just as keen on conservation as it is aesthetics. 

Remember, preserving art isn't just about the past; it's also about the future. Museums must not only invest in cutting-edge lighting technologies but, more importantly, they must secure the expertise of specialized lighting designers to protect their valuable collections and illuminate the wonders of human creativity for generations to come.

Crain's Detroit Business Twenty In Their 20s: Marc Langlois, 29, Lighting Designer

Each year, southeast Michigan’s premiere news outlet publishes a list of the 20 outstanding young leaders who are stepping up and making a difference in metro Detroit—and still have not reached their 30th birthday. Honorees were selected from nominees by Crain’s editorial staff. They were selected based on professional accomplishments and nonprofit and civic involvement with the aim of recognizing a diverse range of people and industries.

This year I was honored to be recognized as part of this prestigious list and I’m proud to share my work with the Detroit community each and every time they visit the Detroit Institute of Arts.

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Marc Langlois, 29

Lighting Designer, Detroit Institute of Arts

Photo: Jacob Lewkow

Marc Langlois got into lighting design at the Detroit Institute of Arts by happenstance, when he was an intern in the prints, drawings and photographs department.

The museum’s lighting technician was out on medical leave. Langlois, who holds associate degrees in graphic and web design, agreed to step in.

"The first day we started, I fell in love with lighting," Langlois said. "Once I saw what I could do to a piece of art with lighting, I was blown away."

Over the past five years, he’s made a name for himself as one of only a handful of museum lighting designers around the country.

He was mentored by local lighting designer Robert White, who designed the award-winning lighting at the Qatar National Convention Centre and the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Today, he is responsible for lighting every piece of art at the museum and the environment around them in a way that helps tell the story the artists had in mind when they created the pieces. From a conservation standpoint, he’s also charged with minimizing the damage light exposure can do to historic pieces on display.

His work ranges from changing light bulbs when needed to designing lighting for individual pieces of art to working with exhibition designers on major exhibitions in the two-year run-up to their public opening.

As part of that, he considers nuances like how to reduce glare, how a stained glass window might have appeared when it hung in a building and how lighting can help transport visitors to the flight deck of Darth Vader’s ship, with a view of the stars in the ship’s window behind him.

Langlois has been the lighting designer on the two most successful exhibitions the DIA has hosted in the past 20 years: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit and Star Wars and the Power of Costume.

He’s also leading museum-wide conversion of its 6,000 or so light fixtures to LED — a move that is showing early savings of 30 percent or more in energy costs — while still keeping aesthetics and conservation in mind.

With the idea of paying it forward, Langlois is now interviewing intern candidates interested in lighting design or in exploring it.

Illuminating “Star Wars™ and The Power of Costume“

On May 20 “Star Wars™ and The Power of Costume“ opened at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), showcasing one of my most rewarding projects to date as a lighting designer. Not only am I am fan of the Star Wars franchise, but this exhibition also gave me the opportunity to try more dramatic and theatrical approaches to lighting than what we typically use in the museum setting. 

Both Theodora Doulamis, the Exhibition Designer, and I wanted to make the experience as authentic as possible for the visitors by creating an immersive space that made you feel right in the middle of all the action, light years away from downtown Detroit.

When designing the lighting for “Star Wars™ and The Power of Costume“ I focused on two goals: bringing the characters to life and showcasing the art behind the costume designs.

Theodora had already designed immersive "sets" that helped tell a story and lead visitors on a journey through a galaxy far, far away. My job was then to create a lighting experience that would mimic that of a film set. I wanted the costumes to look the way people are used to seeing them in the films--as if the visitors were joining the characters right on set. 

Also, because the DIA is a fine art museum, I wanted to showcase the craftsmanship and art behind every piece. I wanted visitors to be able to see and appreciate all of the small details of the costumes which were not clearly shown in the films. There were so many impressive details to be seen and it was my job to bring them to the forefront of the costumes so they could be appreciated.

The project for me was an incredible success of our vision. We created incredible “sets” that walked you through the whole Star Wars™ franchise in an elegant and beautiful way. Thus far, reviews have been positive and the DIA is thrilled to have such an important pop culture exhibition. Come see for yourself! “Star Wars™ and The Power of Costume“ is open until September 30, 2018.

The above video was created by Soraa. To read our full interview on “Star Wars™ and The Power of Costume“ click here.