ingo maurer: interview with the creator of amazing light installations

interview with ingo maurer, german designer, creator of amazing light installations and poetic lamps. humour is a serious thing ! ..................................

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ingo maurer

was born 1932 on the island of reichenau, lake constance, germany.
training as typographer in germany and in switzerland.
studies in graphic design from 1954 to 1958 in munich.
1960 emigration to usa. working as a freelance designer in new york
and san francisco. 1963 return to europe. settling in munich.
in 1966 he founded the studio 'design m' where he designed his first lamp: 'bulb'.
awarded 'chevalier des arts et des lettres' by the french minister of culture (1986).
he conceived several design awards,among them
'designer of the year 1997' by the german magazine 'architektur & wohnen',
the 'design prize 1999' by the city of munich,
the 'lucky strike designer award 2000' by raymond loewy foundation
and the 'primavera del disseny 2000' by the city of barcelona.
lamps in collections of different museums: 'bulb' (1966),
'light structure' (1970 as co-designer), 'little black nothing',
'yayaho' (1988), 'los minimalos dos' (1994), 'lucellino wall' (1992),
'wo bist du, edison...?'(1997) and 'zettel’z' (1999), included in
the design collection of the museum of modern art, new york.
the light objects are designed for his own company,
the 'ingo maurer gmbh', based in munich, and are available in 120 outlets worldwide.
in 2001 he opened his own store in new york.
since many years he has done 'one of a kind' lightings, more or less art objects,
for private collections.
he and his team showed amazing light installations during the international furniture
and lighting fairs in cologne and milan.
co-operation with japanese fashion designer issey miyake.
special effects and huge installation for miyake's défilé at la villette (1999).
his work was featured in numerious exhibitions: at the centre georges pompidou (1985)
and at the fondation cartier in paris (1989), at the stedelijk museum in amsterdam (1993),
at the museum of modern art in new york (1998).
retrospective 'passió per la llum' at the museum santa mònica in barcelona (2001).

ingo maurer is an 'outsider', a designer rare to find: he adds provocation and fun
to our ever so smooth design world.
with his last works 'LED', he once again breaks the limits of bourgeois middle class,
the so-called 'good taste' (...which is so boring, he said).
http://www.ingo-maurer.com

we met ingo maurer at his exhibition at the cologne fair on january 15th, 2001.
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what is the best moment of the day?
there are different moments: in the morning when I wake up, when I am in
harmony with my wife and sometimes at work.

ingo maurer
© designboom

'bulb', 1966

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
southamerican music, I love cuban salsa (I used to dance salsa).

do you listen to the radio?
yes but not often.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
right now the koran (I try to understand it).

do you read design magazines?
very little.

where do you get news from?
sueddeutsche zeitung, new york times.

do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences?
I don't like it when women follow fashion fads.
today so-called'elegance' is very common, thanks to those 'fashion-makers.'
but good taste is always on the razor's edge, you need courage and
self-awareness, today I see very little 'elegance' around, there are a lot
of mannequins.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
(pause) sometimes I avoid wearing red.
not that I don't like it, my kitchen is all red, but it disturbs me as a color for clothing for myself.

do you have any pets?
no.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
in the bath tub, in my car, in the kitchen.
at the beginning it is a sort of perception...
one is always pregnant with ideas.

who would you like to design something for?
I have some fantastic commissions, I am fortunate, at the moment I am creating
a 40 meter long sculpture made of light for the toronto internationalairport.
doing a government commission is complex, lots of bureaucracy,
but in the end I prefer public commissions to private ones.

is design an independent artistic discipline?
when I hear the word 'artistic'... a single screw is amazing.
is it not 'art' what happens between me and an object?

which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction?
the next

when you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues?
yes with my team, with my good friend ron arad...

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
I follow my instincts, I love to take risks, I am a gambler.

when you were a child, what did you want to be?
an equilibrist.

can you tell us something about your double role as a designer and a producer?
I live the conflict of being productive, I create certain objects because they allow me
to express my drives, which is necessary for me.

economy,
quicktime clip (512 kb)

is there any architect or designer from past you appreciate a lot?
alvar aalto, saarinen.

and those still active, are there any particular ones you appreciate?
I like alvaro siza very much.

you have always worked with young designers bringing them to the public's
notice, what can you tell us about the latest generation?
there are some creative designers, but most of them are too self-assured,
I am perennially in doubt, I think that insecurity is an important starting point.

on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid ofunemployment,
criminality and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future ?
I fear flattening. here we are at the cologne fair and it is a perfect example.
everything is on the same level, but nothing is provocative.
I fear mediocracy which infiltrates relationships. it is a real shame.

levelling,
quicktime clip (480 kb)

'savoie', 1979

'one from the heart', 1989

'lucellino', 1992

hot achille, 1994

the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ......................................................................................................................................
(in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings".
seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire)
in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement.
for designboom ingo maurer has answered these 'old fashioned' questions.
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

the main lineaments of my character.
lack of hardness.

a quality I desire in a man.
go for it / being busy.

a quality I desire in a woman.
same.

what I appreciate most among my friends.
their complexity.

my principal defect.
I forget what’s important.

my favourite occupation.
reading books.

my dream of felicity.
to live on the nile.

what would for me be the biggest misfortune.
if the harmony with my wife should disappear.

whom I would like to be.
a tightrope walker.

were I would like to live.
on the nile.

the colour I prefer.
blue.

the flower I love.
peonies.

the bird I prefer.
sparrows.

my favourite authors.
southamerican writers, garcia marquez.

my favourite poets.
rilke.

my heroes in fiction.
no one.

my heroines in fiction.
no one.

my favourite composers.
bach.

my favourite artists.
cy twombly.

my heroes in real life.
the anonymous heroes who go to work every day, who realize how repetitive
it is and nevertheless live happily.

my heroines in history.
women with children.

my favourite names.
ruben, nura (light in arabic).

what I hate most.
pretentiousness.

the historic characters I dislike most.
adolf.

the military enterprise I like the most.
any, every military undertaking is a symbol of violence.

the reformation I appreciate the most.
the positive evolution of racial laws.

nature’s gift I would like to have.
an even more intuitive intelligence.

how I would like to die.
on the water in the mountains.

my soul's present condition.
blurred.

the faults I can bear.
carelessness.

my motto.
don't give up go on.

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editor's note:
the international design yearbook 2000/2001
by ingo maurer
published by:
bangert verlag in germany
http://www.bangertverlag.com

zettel'z, 1997

cologne installation, 1997

'hi bruce', 2001

see the ingo maurer show
at the milan furniture fair 2001

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