Millet, M. S. (1996). Light Revealing Architecture. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

I love the subtleness of this book.  The images in the book display simple ideas of the use of light in space.  One of my favorites: the images and section drawing of Alvar Aalto’s library at the complex of Seinajoki in Finland.

Swirnoff, L. (1989). Dimensional Color. Design Science Collection. Boston: Birkauser.

The combination of color diagrams and photos and paintings in this book connects our natural attraction to color to the science behind it.  The volume and void diagrams on pp. 69-78 give a beautiful illustration of how color reveals volume.  I am fascinated by how this same diagrams can reveals such a variety of forms.

Butterfield, J. (1993). The Art of Light and Space. Abbeville modern art movements (1st ed.). New York: Abbeville Press.

The beginning chapters of this book look at the work of Robert Irwin and James Turrell.  What I find most interesting about these two artists is their exploration.  I feel that they both work to find new and creative ways to experiment with light.  And, most interestingly, they use their own work as inspiration and precedent for future projects. 

Stattmann, Petra Schmidt & Nicola. Unfolded. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag AG, 2009.

This beautiful book display an array of work associated with cutting and folding paper.  I was particularly inspired by the simplicity of Olafur Eliasson’s  ‘Your House (2006),’ project.  The 454 pieces of paper that make up the house give a beautiful view of how the voids and solids create space.  The origami work of Richard Sweeney also provided a form inspiration for my light fixture.

Vyzoviti, Sophia.  Folding Architecture: Spatial, Structural, and Organizational Diagrams. BIS Publishers.  Amsterdam, 2010.

This miniature picture book was an inspiration for my early explorations for my light fixture.  The images, models and diagrams in this book have a rough character that allude to the beauty of exploring through making.  This book inspired me to be more playful in my explorations with paper.

Grynsztejn, Madeleine, ed.  Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson.  Thames & Hudson. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

I have never experienced an Olafur Eliasson installation.  I find it difficult to judge his work through looking at images of the installations.  I feel the depth and feeling of the experience of the pieces is probably far more intriguing.  This book displays the difficulty of preserving an art of impermanence.