Book List of the Week: Five Lighting Designers and the Books That Inspire Them
Sempé, Thun, Van Duysen, Fisher and Marantz
May 19, 2014
Books that illuminate! To mark longer, lighter days and the spring calendar of high-profile design events in May around the world, including New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), which showcases product design in 11 different categories, and London’s Clerkenwell Design Week, we feature the books that inspire five designers of lamps and lighting. Included are French product designer Inga Sempé and architects/interior and product designers Matteo Thun (Italy) and Vincent Van Duysen (Belgium), as well as theatrical lighting designers and creators of New York’s “Tribute in Light” to honor the victims of 9/11, Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz.
Here are some books, recent and ancient, that inspire me.
Although light is invisible, some writing manages to mirror it in the “mind’s eye.”
I am mainly interested in books for their text. I never buy or read “design” books. Books have always been important to me (although I'm finding less time to read at present).
Almost 95 percent of the books I have read were given to me by my mother. Usually books that have been suggested by others have turned out to be disappointing and heavy. Now I hardly trust people when they say they liked a book. I am becoming more interested in reading autobiographies—to hear the voice of a person talking about his or her life.
I am surrounded by books—at home as well as at the office. Art and photography have always been an indispensable part of our life and my wife, Susanne, is excellent at editing. She can convey her enthusiasm about colors and forms, and the books she brings home are as fascinating as they are inspirational.
I like to surround myself with books, not only in my library, but in the bedroom, living room, and kitchen. In most spaces in my home you will find books. This allows me to pick up a book at any moment, at any place. Through reading books I am able to enter another’s world while being inspired in a poetic way.
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