I unintentionally left this one source off my bibliography.  To all of the loyal followers of my blog: I apologize.  I hope no one lost sleep because of its absence.

Weibel, P., & Jansen, G. (2006). Light art from artificial light: Light as a medium in 20th and 21st century art. Jahrhundert. Ostfildern, Deutschland: Hatje Cantz.

This volume has a great number of inspiring art pieces created with artificial lighting.  One that particularly caught my eye was Jorge Pardo’s Ohne Titel (Lamp), found on page 608.  It’s a very dynamic and sculptural luminaire that is almost explosive in nature, but very balanced in its use of color and form.  I particularly enjoy the cool blue exterior, and the mechanical warmth of the interior in its yellow glow and the metal erector-set style frame.

Inspiration Presentation Write-Up

The manner in which Aqua Creations synthesizes traditional craft and natural metaphor into their contemporary luminaires and furniture is very inspiring to me.  They employ hand-stitched silk over welded metal frames for many of their lighting designs, and the general pattern is more or less similar from design to design.  The shape of the welded frame gives each one a unique identity though, despite the commonalities they share in technique.  The works of theirs that I enjoy the most are ones that approach their siting in a unique way.

The samesame light attaches to a thin horizontal surface, such as a shelf, and wraps underneath it.  From what I can tell, the unit is battery-operated, freeing it from the aesthetic and physical limitations of a power cord.  The Ease7 light is a chandelier mobile that reacts to breezes in the space, causing us to reconsider lighting’s potential as an active, kinetic force within a room.  The positioning of a mobile-style luminaire adjacent to HVAC systems could be utilized as a generator for the kinetic motion of one of these lights.  In practice, this could provide a visual complement to the “dashboard” feature of many sustainable buildings.

Though I found their work inspiring, I was unable to hone my craft well enough to produce a luminaire with the same techniques that Aqua Creations utilizes. Their work is in the back of my head though, and will more directly influence some future projects that I would like to pursue.

samesame

Ease7