The Sound of Light

Preciosa Lighting showcased at Tortona, Milan Design Week 2022, an interactive installation titled Composition in Crystal, where rhythm was created from a work of art in crystal installation work.

 

One of the highlights of the Salone Milano. 2022 was the installations that were scattered around the city of design. It was quite impossible to cover the entire showcase that the city had arranged during the Salone Milano but we did manage to catch a few of them. The most intriguing amongst them being the musical light installation by Preciosa Lighting, the Czech lighting specialist that brought rhythm and style to Tortona during Milan Design Week 2022 through light, crystal, and music.

Designed by Preciosa Creative Directors Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug, the installation titled Composition in Crystal, represents a harmonious balance of art and design, enlightened by light and sound. At the event, visitors were invited to “play” with the installation and create their own crystal symphony. An interactive installation, we tried our hand to create music with this lighting delight and came back with memories of a great experience.

This large-scale exhibition consists of outer ‘rings’ – reminiscent of sound waves – and an inner heart. The rings are arranged to encourage visitors to move inwards and explore the installation. The inner heart is divided into three playable sections, where upon contact the sounds will be translated into light which travels though the outer components.

Crystal Spin is a flexible design concept, shifting in space through shape and sparkle. It is a linear design featuring two important parts in terms of structure and design. First are the crystal cylinder components. Designers can choose the rod, colour, and finish to create the style and artistry they desire. Second, Crystal Spin’s frame is not simply a functional support. The frame can be shaped and finished as one wishes. Using this frame allows for Crystal Spin to be installed in atriums and skylights.

“We wanted to bring in as many senses into play as possible,” says Viennese designer Micheal Vasku, who is a “radically formal minimalist” and yet designs such elaborate pieces of work with his business partner Andreas Klug.

The design team’s inspiration came from two different but equally beautiful natural elements: icicles and the polar lights. Crystal Spin’s handcrafted cylinders create sparkle, like the winter sun reflecting off strands of ice. Crystal Spin’s flexibility is reminiscent of the swirls of light created when the polar lights appear; the alluring dance these flashes of light seem to do across the sky. Crystal Spin brings this fascination to any space.

Crystal Spin’s cylinders are handcrafted from the finest Bohemian crystal. This results in slight, natural variants which accentuates the beauty of the crystal. Each crystal component has an LED chip which injects light into it. With each component being individually illuminated, multiple components can be hung on one suspension. The installation can be static, dynamic, or interactive.

“The music created for the installation is designed by Juraj Mravec, the man behind the music of TV shows The Crown and The Veep,” says Vasku. Vasku first approached Mravec in November 2019, with the idea of a crystal ‘harp’ that was designed like a musical instrument, with a musical scale that visitors could play.

All the Images Courtesy Perciosa Lighting