Requiem: A White Wanderer

Luftwerk + Katherine Young

As part of the Outer Ear Residency, Luftwerk presents an immersive sculptural exhibition at Audible Gallery, November 22nd, 2019 – January 26th, 2020. Illuminated objects will fill the space with shadows and reflections creating a visual topography enhanced by amplified sounds mimicking the calving of glaciers, created by collaborator Katherine Young. 

Opening Reception: Friday, November 22, 6-9pm

Hilb’s Day Celebration: Dark to Light

Friday, November 15, 2019 • 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Location: Carr Chapel (65 E. 32nd St., Chicago)
Free to public, RSVP required (Register here)
Sponsor: Edward Polich (Alumnus, Mies Board Member), Draper & Kramer

Ludwig Karl Hilberseimer (1885-1967), the German architect and urban planner best known for his ties to the Bauhaus and to Mies van der Rohe. At IIT, he developed a universal, adaptable system which planned for the darkest day of the year (December 21, “Hilb’s Day”) in order to produce environments with as much light as possible. View Luftwerk’s installation, “Center of Rotation”, the principles that create a sustainable relationship between humans, industry, nature and human habitation.

Geometry of Light


Farnsworth House the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and MAS Context are pleased to announce that Geometry of Light, an art intervention by Luftwerk in collaboration with Iker Gil will be installed at the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, in October 11-13, 2019. The art installation will coincide with the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Both VIP and general entry tickets are already available for purchase. Geometry of Light will run each evening from 7 pm until 10 pm.

Tickets
Friday, October 11, 2019 (VIP)
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Sunday, October 13, 2019

Geometry of Light is a three-night light and sound art installation in the iconic Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe, and on the surrounding land. Completed in 1951 and opened to the public in 2004, the Farnsworth House was the weekend home of Chicago research physician Dr. Edith Farnsworth. This outdoor intervention will uncover the forgotten history of the site and remnants of earlier landscape by revealing the underlying geometries that relate the world-renowned house to its river floodplain, site topography, and key trees that no longer exist.

In concert with the projected light, a custom-designed sound piece by Oriol Tarrago is integral to this experience. Developed in direct response to the site, this auditory component uses the pitch of the space to create a tonal reading. Together these elements provide a new interpretation of the Farnsworth House and its extraordinary location.

Geometry of Light premiered this past February at the German Pavilion in Barcelona designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. The installation was presented as part of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe’s ongoing program of artistic interventions also corresponding with the LLUM BCN Festival and the Santa Eulàlia Festival.

Geometry of Light is part of the Year of German-American Friendship 2018|19 initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and is supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). This project is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and Bosch Power Tools – North America. Additional support provided by Chuck Thurow, Virtue Cider, and many individual donors. 

Parallel Perspectives in Review

Thanks to Andrew Lasane and This is Colossal!

Thanks to Vasia Rigou and Newcity for selecting Parallel Perspectives among the Design Top 5

Luftwerk in conversation with Michael Rossi

Saturday, July 20, 2019 – 1:30pm
Elmhurst Art Museum
150 Cottage Hill Ave.
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126
Join us for a conversation about color and perception with Michael Rossi. We will present ideas on color, specifically relating to the current exhibition Parallel Perspectives in Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House. Michael Rossi is a historian of science and medicine at the University of Chicago. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Republic of Color: Science, Perception, and the Making of Modern America.

Mies’ Farnsworth House to be awash in gridded lasers …

Geometry of Light by Luftwerk in collaboration with Iker Gil, projects light and patterns both inside and on the grounds surrounding the Farnsworth House. Presented in concert with a sound-piece developed in direct response to the site by Oriol Tarragó, this intervention will reveal underlying geometries that relate the house to its river floodplain site, topography, and natural landscape.

Farnsworth House
October 11th – 13th 2019

Preview on Archinect

3Arts Residency at the Djerassi Residency

Thank you 3Arts for an inspiring time at Djerassi Residency

Parallel Perspectives | Elmhurst Art Museum | MAY 11 – AUGUST 25, 2019

Parallel Perspectives is a site-specific exhibition that uses color and light interventions to activate and interpret the McCormick House, designed by Mies van der Rohe. The installation will include several light and color works with static and dynamic changing color relationships, including an immersive light piece that transforms a bedroom in the home, neon pieces with mirrored effects, pulsing lightboxes, and colorful glass panes. The visual effects of color impact viewers’ experiences throughout the McCormick House’s domestic environment and shifts traditional spatial perceptions of the home while celebrating Mies’ signs of the modular prototype for prefab housing.

Parallel Perspectives is part of Bauhaus100, the global anniversary celebrations of the legendary German art school. It continues Luftwerk’s year-long exploration of architecture by Mies, which began with the Barcelona Pavilion continues to the Farnsworth House and will end at Carr Chapel at IIT.

To learn more visit: Elmhurst Art Museum

Experimental Sound Studio: Outer Ear Residency

Excited about the Outer Ear Residency at ESS and collaborating with Katherine Young on:

Requiem: A White Wanderer an evening length presentation of new music for a full orchestra and choir. This musical score will be developed in collaboration with composer Katherine Young with live work-in-progress public performances beginning in Fall 2019. Inspired by Larsen-C, a 120-mile long crack that was along the Antarctic ice shelf and broke into a trillion-ton iceberg in 2017, White Wanderer translates seismic data from an ailing iceberg into an emotional experience, connecting the public to the urgency of climate change. The source data is based on the seismic recordings made by Douglas MacAyeal, a glaciologist at the University of Chicago. MacAyeal has recorded seismic data over a multi-year time period, observing the movement of iceberg B15. Seismic data is a low frequency sonic signal, inaudible to the human ear, but can be perceived and felt throughout the ocean system, traveling through trenches and the SOFAR channel from the Antarctic to Haiti and beyond.


Geometry of Light | Barcelona Pavilion

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe and MAS Context are pleased to announce Geometry of Light, an art intervention by Luftwerk in collaboration with Iker Gil that will take place at the Barcelona Pavilion, February 10-17, 2019 as part of their ongoing program of artistic interventions.

Geometry of Light is an immersive intervention at the Barcelona Pavilion envisioned as a contemporary lens for this important masterpiece, highlighting and expanding upon the architectural and material features of this structure. In concert with the projected light and patterns, a custom-designed sound piece by Oriol Tarragó is integral to this experience.

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