When we spoke to Marc Zehntner and Mateo Kries, the joint heads of the Vitra Design Museum, they told us that they hoped to make the institution "... a much more vibrant location that doesn’t just present exhibitions exploring the most important design themes and topics but much more asks question of the visitors and so becomes more of an experience."
The fringe programme to the current Vitra Design Museum exhibition Lightopia wonderfully demonstrates just what they meant, featuring as it does a series of talks, films, installations and excursions that explore light in more ways than you thought possible.
And in more locations.
For whereas normally the fringe programme contends itself to events at the main Vitra Campus base, for Lightopia the Vitra Design Museum have joined forces with the Haus für elektronische Künste Basel, the Literaturhaus Basel and the Mulhouse theatre La Filature to instigate the event series "Lichtlandschaften" , a programme of events throughout the Three Country Region of France, Switzerland and Germany.
The opening event was/is the light and sound installation California Sunshine by Alexandre Joly at HeK@Keck Kiosk Basel. Over the coming months the Lichtlandschaften programme features events as varied as "fire studies", a light inspired audiovisual show by Hamburg-based electronic duo incite/ in the Haus für elektronische Künste Basel; "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse" a light installation by Parisian artists Berger & Berger; and an evening of "Light in Literature" presented in the unique atmosphere of Carlos Cruz-Diez's installation "Chromosaturation", one of the Lightopia exhibits.
A further highlight, and indeed central component, of the "Lichtlandschaften" programme is and promises to be regular presentations of Canadian artist Chris Salter's light and sound installation "N_Polytope: Behaviors in Light and Sound After Iannis Xenakis" in the Buckminster Fuller Dome.
Among the talks organised as part of the Lightopia Fringe Programme particular highlights for us include "Inventing Tolomeo" with Michele De Lucchi on Thursday October 17th, in which the background to one of the most ingenious, and instantly recognisable, pieces of lighting design will be explained by its creator; "Flames and Fashion" on November 14th in which light designer Moritz Waldemeyer discusses the role and importance of light in creating atmosphere and mood; while on Thursday January 23rd 2014 Richard Sapper looks back on his, not inconsiderable, light design canon.
Further highlights of the Vitra Design Museum Lightopia Fringe Programme include the workshop "ReDesign – Lights from Recycled Materials", a tour through the exhibition with Vitra Design Museum Chief Conservator Susanne Graner in which the specific problems of restoring and caring for lighting will be discussed and a visit to CERN in Meyrin and their particle accelerators where Prof. Jürg Schacher will answer the question "What is light?"
Which is of course something anyone planning viewing the exhibition should really know.
Full details on the Fringe Programme to Lightopia at the Vitra Design Museum can be found at www.design-museum.de
And as before a visit to Lightopia can be thoroughly recommended.
