The Right Intensity of Light: The Book Lists of Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz
By Steve Kroeter March 29, 2011
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| Jules Fisher |
To get a feel for the remarkably varied and ever-present role that light plays in our lives, there is no better place to look than the work of the firm founded by lighting designers Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz. Over the course of the more than 40 years that they have worked together, their combined projects reveal the full spectrum of light as a constant social, cultural, and commercial force.
In New York they designed the city’s “Tribute in Light” to honor the victims of 9/11. Well known for their architectural projects, they were responsible for lighting the world’s tallest building (Dubai) and one of the planet’s largest airport terminals (Hong Kong). Their work showcases the art in the Getty Center in Los Angeles and other major museums across the country and around the globe.
The firm has designed the lighting for more than 200 Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well as films, ballets, operas, rock concerts, and television programs.
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| Paul Marantz |
Glimpsing the titles included on Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz's book lists is like experiencing strobe-like insights into the form and function of their world of light. From Fisher comes “The Dramatic Imagination,” “In the Light of Italy,” and “Unless It Moves the Human Heart.” From Marantz, we get “Brilliant,” “Eye and Brain,” and “In Praise of Shadows.”
While Fisher and Marantz think in many ways like artists (Fisher includes a book on the painter Corot and Marantz has one on the architect Albert Kahn, a “poet of natural light”)—working in an invisible medium—they are at the same time attuned to the power of words and how they are used. Fisher compares “picking the right word” to picking “the right intensity of light.” And on Marantz’s list is The Elements of Style, in which “clear exposition” is irreplaceable.
From the “recent and ancient” books on Fisher’s list to writing that Marantz sees as mirroring light in the “mind’s eye”—the books on these two lists provide insights into a subject that touches us all.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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