Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the German-born cutting- edge lighting designer who is considered the most prolific, creating 150 lights and lighting systems including the Birds collection and the graceful paper Mamo Nuches?
He was born in 1932 on the island of Reichenua, Lake Constance in Germany, and trained as a graphic designerfrom 1954-1958. He emigrated to the US in 1960, where he worked as a freelance designer for three years at Kayser Aluminum and at IBM.
Returning to Munich, he opened Design M. a firm which specialized in producing cutting edge lighting design. As the most prolific lighting designer, creating over 150 lights and lighting systems, he is considereda pioneer in the usage of new lighting technologies.
He once said that he is fascinated by the “magical and mystical” properties of light, and it is evident in the humor, originality, and sheer beauty of his work.
One of these is the Chanel table — a long, low piece that can either be a bench or table, with tiny LED lights imbedded in the three thick layers of glass that form the slabs. When illuminated, one has the impression of stars floating in space.
His work is heavily influenced by Pop Art, a movement which he became familiar with while living in America. Bulb, his first lighting design, was created for an installation at the Herman Miller showroom in 1966. “I have always been fascinated by the light bulb,” he said. “Because it is the perfect meeting of industry and poetry. It is my inspiration.”
Other works include No Fuss in 1969, and the elegantly simple Savoie lamp in 1979. In 1980, he designed Bulb Bulb, which can either be a pendant lamp of a floor lamp and is also in the form of an outsized light bulb. This time, the lamp is made of plastic, and its appearance can be changed by the use of colored light bulbs — and it is deliberately kitschy.
At the 1984 Euroluce trade fair in Milan, he launched the technology he had developed for a halogen lighting system, which immediately created a furor. Little low voltage halogen lamps are strung in parallel rows in space. In 1992, he came up with Lucellino, a light bulb sporting little goose feather wings.
His hanging lamp, Porca Miseria, made to look like an explosion of broken crockery suspended around the source of light dates from 1994, and is one of his most famous original pieces.
In 1999, he used several large aluminum lampshades having a diameter of four meters for his design for the Munich Westfriedhof underground station.
Throughout his career, his work has been featured in many museum exhibitions. His work is part of many prominent museum collections worldwide.
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Last week’s question: Who is the renowned American textile designer who designed the first airplane upholstery for Pan American Airlines?
Answer: Jack Lenor Larsen
Winner: Rolan Figueras of Quezon City
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Text your answer to 0915-6486414 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1950.Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
