A History of Brilliance: Working with Light

The exhibition includes three sections – realms in which humans have worked with light. The first is “labor and literacy,” and shows visitors some of the ways lighting has been used for essential work, and has shaped the ways that work takes place. The second section treats light in the context of religion – its symbolic meanings and its ritual uses. The final section is on luxury and art, and features several examples of the ways lighting has been commodified as a luxury, and how artists across time have been inspired by natural light and by lighting innovations to create and adapt their artistic practices.

This exhibition was the culmination of the intern Beatrix Briggs’s summer internship at the Berkshire Museum in 2024.