DesignNJ_OctNov 22_Digital Issue

stylenewjersey | ICONIC DESIGN
A Light with Soul
An automotive engineer’s creativity spawns a fixture
for the office, the home and Hollywood
BY REN MILLER
It may seem unusual to want to pat a light fixture on the head and
say, “There, there, little one.” But then the Anglepoise® Lamp is an
unusual light fixture.
For the imaginative among us, the lamp looks like a mechanical body
with a bendable spine and movable head. In fact, the Anglepoise has
inspired:
• A dancing lamp sequence in Peter Gabriel’s “Shock the Monkey”
video in 1982.
• References by the protagonist of Salman Rushdie’s 1981 novel
Midnight’s Children as providing the light in which he writes.
• The 1978 song “(I Wanna Be an) Anglepoise Lamp” by English rock
group The Soft Boys.
• A 1949 restriction that prevented BBC employees from using an
Anglepoise on their desk unless a ceiling or wall light was also turned
on. An overly zealous official believed that someone working in the light
of a low-wattage lamp like the Anglepoise might produce degenerate
programming. It was, not surprisingly, a short-lived restriction.
• And perhaps the most well-known connection: Pixar’s use of a similar
lamp in its logo (see sidebar).
……
The Anglepoise Lamp had humble beginnings 90 years ago when
George Carwardine (1887-1947), a British automotive engineer, applied
for a patent on a new type of spring-tension mechanism that could
be moved easily in any direction and remained rigid in any position.
Carwardine had started to work on the concept a few years earlier while
developing vehicle suspension systems for Horstmann Car Co. in the
United Kingdom. He left Horstmann when the company ran into
financial trouble, later returned and then left again in 1931 to work at his
own company, Cardine Accessories.
It was at Cardine Accessories that he realized his spring mechanism
would be perfect for an articulating task lamp that combines flexibility
and stability. He created a lamp with a four-spring mechanism: As the
user moved the joints of the lamp, the springs activated and balanced
it, allowing the lamp to hold its shape. It could be moved up or down,
right or left at any angle to focus the light exactly where it was needed.
The 25-watt bulb he used was economical and bright enough because
the light was directed so precisely. Carwardine called it the Anglepoise
(angle + poise or pose) Lamp.
The lamp was popular from the start, and Carwardine soon realized he
needed a partner in the business. In 1934, he signed a licensing agreement
with Herbert Terry and Sons, which had already supplied the springs
for the lamps. Carwardine continued working to develop other versions.
While the original four-spring design was intended for commercial
environments such as workshops and medical offices, Carwardine soon
developed a three-spring version with an attractive stepped base designed
for residential use. This version, called the Original 1227, was released in
1935. It has undergone some refinements over the years but is considered
the standard-bearer of the Anglepoise family.
Today, Anglepoise is its own company, and members of the Terry
family are still in charge. The line has expanded to encompass a range of
Anglepoise styles, sizes and finishes — including floor, wall and pendant
lights — designed by Carwardine and, later, a bevy of British notables,
including industrial designer Sir Kenneth Grange and fashion designers
Paul Smith and Margaret Howell.
All of the lamps come with a lifetime guarantee and are available at
Anglepoise.com. The Original 1227 is $315. DNJ
A STAR IS BORN
A sage green edition of
the Original 1227 desk
lamp is a collaboration of
Anglepoise and the National
Trust, a heritage conservation
organization for England,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Movie buffs have seen it countless times. An articulated lamp hops across the
screen, stomps down the letter “I” in the Pixar logo and then turns its “head”
toward the viewer. Although it looks like an Anglepoise, the Pixar mascot was
modeled on a similar lamp introduced in 1937 by Luxo ASA in Norway. That
lamp, called Luxo, in 1986 inspired John Lasseter, who was then with Pixar
Animation Studios, to write and direct a computer-animated short film called
Luxo, Jr. That 2-minute film, featuring father-and-son lamp characters Luxo Sr.
and Luxo Jr., became the first one using computer-generated imagery to be
nominated for an Academy Award. All was well between Luxo and Disneyowned
Pixar until the latter started to sell an unauthorized Luxo Jr. lamp
packaged with a Blu-ray version of the film Up in 2009. Luxo sued and Disney
agreed to stop selling Luxo Jr. lamps as long as Pixar was allowed to continue
using Luxo Jr. as its corporate mascot.
22 October/November 2022