Prompt
Watch the documentary LUMIA (stream/download here) by Meredith Finkelstein and Paul Vlachos about the life and work of visual music pioneer Thomas Wilfred and the people he inspired to follow in his footsteps. Then, read the text A Radiant Manifestation in Space: Wilfred, Lumia and Light by Keely Orgeman (Yale University Press, 2017) about the conceptual world Wilfred placed his work in and the technical details of his creations.
Write a two to three paragraph reflection on the concept of Lumia and the life and work of Thomas Wilfred, as you understand it from the documentary and the text. Reflect on the significance of his work, his conceptual framework(s), and his technical process.
Lumia is the art of light.
Thomas Wilfred envisioned Lumia as a unique art form. He wished to “separate Lumia from the light-organ tradition”, so this art form is not about establishing an actual relationship between light and music. What inspires me is that Wilfred did not consider light as the medium of his art form but as its fundamental conceit. He used light to explore complex concepts like human existence and other philosophical ideas. The marvelous visualization evoked the audience’s sensations and imagination. Lumia broadens our understanding of what art can be and how art can interact with the audience. The documentary mentioned that some audience heard the music while watching the Lumia, but the Lumia was in fact silent. This shows that it’s only a visual performance, but it can interact with other senses.
The technical process included the selection of composition and modifying composition aspects like “tempo of movement, the intensity of color, and levels of brightness and darkness”, etc. It’s interesting that those artists all made things from home. They built the theater of light by themselves, including the projectors and the light bulbs. For Wilfred, he painted the abstract color design on the light bulb and had it projected. However, since the machinery was fragile, those works were hard to maintain. Perhaps the best way to preserve them is through filming.
Just like the name of the text suggests, Wilfred’s manipulation of the movement of light contributed to the fusions of art and technology. Lumia explores the connection between light, sound, and human emotions. It makes us wonder about the relationship between light and art.
Reference
A Radiant Manifestation in Space: Wilfred, Lumia and Light by Keely Orgeman (Yale University Press, 2017)