Lightopia short Press Information pdf - Vitra Design Museum

Press informationLightopia28.09.2013 – 16.03.2014Vitra Design Museum, Weil am RheinOver the past century, electric light has revolutionised our environment unlikehardly any other medium. It has transformed our cities, created new lifestyles andworking conditions, and became a catalyst of progress for industry, medicine andcommunication. New lighting technologies are currently bringing about profoundchanges in the domain of artificial lighting. This development is the subject of theVitra Design Museum’s exhibition »Lightopia«. It is the first comprehensive showcaseon the topic of lighting design, featuring examples from the realms of art, design,architecture and many other disciplines.»Lightopia« encompasses roughly 300 works, including numerous iconic artefacts from the Vitra DesignMuseum’s lighting collection – which has thus far never been presented to the public – withworks by Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Achille Castiglioni, Gino Sarfatti and Ingo Maurer. Other objects demonstratethe performative power of light, like the famous »Light-Space Modulator« by László Moholy-Nagy, or the spectacular reconstruction of a discothèque from the year 1968, made entirely out oftranslucent plexiglass. The primary focus of the exhibition is on works by contemporary designers andartists such as Olafur Eliasson, Troika, Chris Fraser, Front Design, Daan Roosegaarde, Joris Laarman,realities:united and mischer’traxler, who illustrate the scope of new possibilities for designing withlight. Among the exhibits are many interactive and walk-in installations that give visitors a direct experienceof the archaic power of light.A true panorama of lighting design – from the beginnings of industrial society to the visions that willdefine our future – emerges from the dialogue between the works displayed in »Lightopia«. The historicalreview of lighting design also places a sharper focus on the radical changes occurring today.While novel plastics, coloured light and halogen lamps were the driving forces behind new designsduring the past century, today this role has been taken on by digitalisation or OLED technology. Becauseof such innovations, light has become increasingly autonomous and independent from traditionallighting objects – it can now be integrated in textiles or facades, and that it has received acompletely new importance as a powerful element that defines physical spaces. Taking these developmentsas a starting point, the exhibition also addresses questions that dominate today’s discourse:Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Straße 2, D-79576 Weil am RheinT +49.7621.702.3200, F +49.7621.702.3590, info@design-museum.de, www.design-museum.de

How can designers, artists and architects utilise light in a way that protects our natural resources?How can we deal with the problem of excessive artificial lighting, or ‘light pollution’?With its interdisciplinary approach, »Lightopia« shows how lighting design has influenced modernliving spaces. The exhibition also explores the current paradigm shift and locates it within culturalhistory. As curator Jolanthe Kugler points out: »›Lightopia‹ is the first exhibition that not only examinespartial aspects of lighting design – such as light art or the design of luminaires – but also looks at thedifferent facets of lighting design and places it in the context of current debates.«The exhibition »Lightopia« is accompanied by an extensive events programme, including lectures,podium discussions, symposia and workshops with renowned artists, designers and scholars. Ourguests will include Michele De Lucchi, Ben van Berkel, Winy Maas/MVRDV, Rogier van der Heide,Troika, mischer’traxler and many others. A 300-page catalogue in three volumes with over 300 illustrationsis being published in conjunction with the exhibition. Among its authors are international expertson design and lighting, such as Peter Weibel, Sidney Perkowitz, Hartmut Böhme and Bart Loomtsma.Following its presentation at the Vitra Design Museum, the exhibition will travel to other museumsaround the world.Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Straße 2, D-79576 Weil am RheinT +49.7621.702.3200, F +49.7621.702.3590, info@design-museum.de, www.design-museum.de