Additional Objects

I found several more great examples of found object lighting today at homedit.com


This is a clothespin light that uses LED's. Designed by Sungho Lee



This light is made of Korean bread plates, created by Jung Hwa Jin

Just as the wine bottle lights are popular in restaurants this light was meant for kitchens, It seems that incorporating objects utilized in a particular space into the lighting is a popular design trend.

Here are a few more examples of this from inventorspot.com

From inventorspot.com

This light is placed in a bathroom sink or tub faucet and uses the water as a light
From thinkgeek.com

This one is a little different than the previous ones as it incorporates light into an existing object in a space.

Found Objects

The use of found objects in fine art has been around for a while, made particularly popular by the Dada movement. Marcel Duchamp, a well known Dada artist created "readymades" or found object art. "Fountain" made in 1917 was the most famous, a hand signed urinal on a pedestal.
From Wikipedia.org

Today, found objects are popular in contemporary sculpture. One especially popular style of sculpture is "Junk Art" using old machine parts and scrap metal to create sculptures
From humboldtarts.org
made byFrederick Hazard


This same trend can be found in modern lighting.

Here are some rather extream examples of Junk Art lighting :
From jimonlight.com

I have also noticed that wine bottles are a popular found object used in lighting, especially in restaurants.

Here are a few examples
Fromfunpresident.com
From potterybarn.com

Mid-Century Modern

The Mid-Century Modern style was a popular design style from the mid 1930's to the mid 60's. The main principles of this movement were simplicity, natural shapes, purity of form, clean lines and a monochromatic color palette. The goal of the movement was to bring modernism to the masses, the term "democratic design" was often used to describe this concept. This style emerged from the post-world war era when people were optimistic about the future, it was also a time when people became fascinated with outer space. The Mid-Century style reflects this through a futuristic design aesthetic.

From wellmedicated.com

Today, Mid-Century lighting is very popular. In today's economy it seems people are drawn to this simple and classic style, they want something that wont go out of style in a year or two . Another possible reason this style is making a comeback is it reminds people of a more prosperous and optimistic time.

Here are some classic examples of the style...
From jennskistudio.blogspot.com

From Rejuvination.com

From Atomicindy.com

Installation Art

One aspect of Post Modern art is installation art; work that relates to its environment by incorporating and reacting to its physical location. Here is a classic example of installation art from artnexus.com


In terms of lighting, I have found two trends that relate to this concept. The first are lights that create shadows and light patterns that are projected past the light itself and onto the lights surrounding environment. The light uses the room as its canvas, the patterns it projects are altered by its surrounding physical environment . from designshoot.com


from thevectorgroup.com

Another trend in lighting are lights that relate to their environment. These lights incorporate their mounting location and power source into the design. They seem to be engaged with and reacting to their environment.
from theplaycoalition.net

Relational Art Movement

relationalism is a current fine art movement that redefines the concept of art. Instead of art being judged based on its imagery or physical form, artworks are judged upon the inter-human relations which they represent, produce or prompt. Relational artwork creates an environment that brings people together to collectively experience and participate in an activity, basically Relationalism is Interactive Art.This Movement seems particularly relevant to our times as interactive design becomes more and more prevalent. Interactive design is a key part of our modern product development, from phones to websites interaction is carefully considered. In our post-modern world of art as product it does not seem so far- fetched that interactive design has become part of our fine art as well. This is a Relational / Interactive Art piece designed by Berlin interactive artists Gunnar Green and Frederic Eyl. It is a wall composed of mechanical apertures, they react to the amount of light and close or open accordingly, the result is a real time half tone effect as a person moves along the wall.
technabob.com


The fine art movement of Relationalism can be found in today's interactive lighting products. These light displays rely on interaction with people to create their images. I found a great example of this at hippyshopper.com

This interactive wall display uses low energy LED lights. Users can change the light display through touch and up to six people at a time can change different parts of the display.This product is also eco-friendly using about the same amount of energy as a toaster.

Another example is made by Electroland. It is a walkway that creates light patterns based on the locations of people on it. I found this and several other great examples at Interactive Architecture.org

Trend Watching

I will be following these two websites to gain more in-site into the connection between fine art and lighting trends.

the first site is Homedit.com, a great resource for lighting trends. Website: http://www.homedit.com/category/lighting

The second site is Art Info.com, a good resource for fine art news and shows. Website:
http://www.artinfo.com

Art,Lighting,Sustainability

Through my research of modern (or perhaps more accurately post-modern) art lighting I found several good examples of conceptually based lighting products. In today's culture sustainability is an important aspect of any product. Consumers desire sustainable or green products. This trend has become a major concept in art lighting but it can also be seen in today's fine art.

Recently there has been a great deal of news regarding the evils of plastic water bottles, they are quickly piling up in our landfills.

I found an chandelier made entirely from used plastic water bottles.
From webecoist.com

This piece is definitely concept driven, experimental in its material and quick to produce, all of these are Post- Modern characteristics

Another great example of this trend is the work of Stuart Haygarth who uses garbage to create lights. Each piece uses garbage from a specific place or time, such as party poppers that he collected on new years day 2000 . Check it out at:
http://www.stuarthaygarth.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1079

This same trend can be found in fine art. One example is the work of John Dahlsen, a contemporary painter who uses plastic waste as the subject matter for his paintings. He also creates images from old plastic bags. Images of his work can be found at:http://www.johndahlsen.com

A major trend in both fine art and lighting is the concept of sustainability with found objects as the material of choice. Garbage has become a new medium for creating fine art as well as consumer products.

Contemporary Art Movements

Throughout history art has been classified into different movements. From Baroque to Pop art, most people are familiar with these styles (or at very least there names) but what movement are we in now? I realized, (to my own horror) as a well educated professional artist that I couldn’t name a single art movement after 1960. Well, after some research I realized that there have been quite a few movements since the 60s, I found over 20. Here is a link if you would like to check some of them out: http://arthistory.about.com/library/outlines/blcontemporary.htm..

We are currently in the Post- Modern Era which is post 1960 to present. The Post -Modern Era is characterized by:

Conceptualism: meaning of work becomes more important than aesthetics

Experimentation: use of non-traditional materials and subject matter

Cultural influences that have had an effect on the Post -Modern Era include:

· New image making technology which allows artists to make work without traditional skill sets. This causes craftsmanship, expertise and traditional art skills and training to loose value. The artistic process moves from painstaking careful craftsmanship to quick instant gratification. Artists focus on production techniques rather than honing in on a particular craft skill.

· Increasing consumerism culture also affects visual art, placing value on novelties and entertainment. Art becomes more like a product providing entertainment through shock value.