Unusual lighting schemes
Published by Becky S January 31st, 2005 in arts, philadelphia
Last week’s All Wear Bowlers outing was my first visit to Old City’s Mum Puppettheatre. One of the best things about that space is the lights made of four-sided cheese graters. What a brilliant idea! The venue contains sconce lighting in the form of cheese graters attached to the walls; in addition, there are cheese graters hanging from the ceiling in both the lobby and the theater proper.
The graters’ holes cast eye-catching patterns and shadows on the walls of Mum Puppettheatre, and somehow the novelty of the lighting scheme sets the mood for something offbeat or creative to happen on the stage.
The cheese graters remind me of my favorite lights in Philadelphia, also located in Old City. Warren Muller is a local lighting sculptor who illuminates trash and found objects, with remarkable results (of course, this is the opinion of someone fascinated by giant typewriter erasers). One of my life goals is to own a Warren Muller piece.
You can see Muller’s work at bahdeebahdu, a showroom he runs in conjunction with interior designer RJ Thornburg. The gallery’s website has some terrific pictures of the light sculptures, but if you live in Philly, you should go down and see them for yourself (I’m not sure if Muller still occupies his old space on Third Street).
If you can’t shell out thousands for a Muller piece, Amazon.com is selling some very nice cheese graters.
arts claus oldenburg old city Philadelphia theater
nice! i think that is so kewl.
watch me carrying a few graters home in the next few days… LOL!
Eh, I wasn’t so impressed with them. Of course I didn’t notice them until Becky pointed them out, so I suppose I am not the best person to ask about them
How about putting lights in other kinds of kitchen utensils? Like illuminated pasta pots or iridescent egg slicers! OK, I really don’t know how that last one would work.
Scott, you’re obviously jealous because you didn’t think to take any cheese grater pictures for Blankbaby. All you have are pictures of apples and little mac computers.
I wonder if the people at Home Depot know how to hang a cheese grater from the ceiling.
Bahdeebahdu once had the nickel couch on display. That was cool. I don’t care much for unconventional lighting displays. All the displays at Bahblahblah look like a disaster waiting to fall on someone’s head.
Hey, that’s a cool nickel couch. To look at, I mean–not to have in your living room.
“All the displays at Bahblahblah look like a disaster waiting to fall on someone’s head.”
That’s just part of the appeal.
I like Dave’s idea of homemade kitchenware light sculptures. If posting stops suddenly, I am likely lying around electrocuted somewhere.
“Scott, you’re obviously jealous because you didn’t think to take any cheese grater pictures for Blankbaby. All you have are pictures of apples and little mac computers.”
You say that as if there is something wrong with it. I am, afterall, a well respected technologist.
I know that Tony Meredith in Los Angeles does Tupperware lamps:
http://www.tonymeredith.com/tupperware.html
We make ours out of K’Nex:
http://www.kaleberg.com/knex