Light Modulator

Jim Allen’s sculpture was commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery’s Director Peter Tomory, for the Contemporary New Zealand Painting and Sculpture exhibition held in 1960, a year before Allen began teaching at Auckland’s Elam School of Art. During 1959, Allen assisted architect John Scott in planning Wellington’s Futuna Chapel. Both were fascinated with how space, mass, bulk and shade are transformed by light. They admired Le Corbusier’s 1954 Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France, where the building’s pierced walls cut into the structure’s volume. About this Allen commented:

"I decided to explore this further by making a sculpture allowing the penetration of light through a solid block. After viewing the result, John Scott subsequently commissioned me to design a light modulator for two large areas above the entrance door as a means of controlling the entry of light into the Futuna Chapel."

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