MACHINE LIGHTS HANDCRAFTED LIGHT OBJECTS BY FRANK BUCHWALD
BERLIN, GERMANY
ON THE ESSENCE OF THE MACHINE LIGHTS "For me, the idea of the machine lights developed over many years of dealing with the na ture of modern t echnology, especially the mechanical ar t if acts of the industrial age. It is associa t ed for me with the realiza t ion tha t an independent realit y which withdraws itself f rom human access, exists behind the manif est appearances of mechanical objects and secret ly det ermines the world of the machines. ... A common mist ake of our t ime is the belief tha t machines are solely products and ar t if acts of human planning, design, and manuf acture. Working on the machine lights was for me a guarantor and a const ant ly new examina t ion of something hidden tha t int erweaves and shapes the sphere of the machine like a secret principle. ... The a t t ent ive obser ver will have not f ailed to not ice tha t the machine lights also live f rom source other than f rom the hand of man. Although I have worked for over t en years on the machine lights, I do not really regard them as my own work. They are beings with an own na ture. The individual models were not designed spont aneously in a moment of inspira t ion. It was ra ther a long groping for a hard to comprehend meaningful form. ... It took a long t ime unt il the moment was reached in which I could say tha t the designs were moving in the right direct ion. And it was a long pa th unt il f irst protot ypes were ready about which I could say: yes, now it is right. ... I have the f eeling tha t the machine lights, the way they have now been made, come very close to wha t they por tray. They have reached the right level of complet eness and perf ect ion...." Exc erp ts fr o m a c onversa t i on with the Philo s o pher Gerhard Schwarz, Berlin, February 2009
Photo: www.andybarnham.com
FRANK BUCHWALD Designer and manuf acturer of furniture, lights, and objects. STATIONS: Study of Design a t the Universit y of the Ar ts Berlin. Paint er and f reelance illustra tor. Self-employed since 1993 with his own workshop. Int erior design and manuf acture of furniture and lights. SINCE 2002: Work on light objects.
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 01
Burnished st eel Brushed brass Text ile cables Globe handcraf t ed glass blowing Volt age: 230 V / 120V Tube lamp 2 x 40W B. 30 cm / W. 12.2 inch H. 54 cm / H. 21.2 inch
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 02
Burnished st eel Brushed brass Flexible brass tubes Text ile cables Volt age: 230 V Tube or spot lights 2 x 40 W B. 55 cm / W. 21.6 inch H. up to 95 cm / H. up to 37.4 inch
MACHINE LIGHT Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Tube lamp 1 x 60W W. 61 cm / W. 24 inch H. 28 cm / H. 11 inch
NO. 03
MACHINE LIGHT Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Spirally f ilament bulb 3 x 40W B. 64 cm / W. 25.2 inch H. 38 cm / H. 15.0 inch
NO. 05
PENDANT LIGHT Diamet er: 4.6 f t / 1,4 x 1,4m Height: 3,3 f t, 1m plus ceiling suspension syst em 16 globe and tube bulbs Burnished st eel and brass Text ile cables and f lexible brass tubes Weight: 159 lb, 72 kg
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 06
Burnished st eel Brushed brass Flexible brass tubes Tubular lamp opal / clear 60W Volt age: 230V / 110V B. 50 cm / W. 19.7 inch H. 35 cm / H. 13.8 inch
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 09
Burnished st eel Brushed brass 4 x tube lamps, clear, 60 W Height-adjust able 3 axles up to one Flexible brass tubes Max. height: 1,10 m / 43.3 inch Length: 1,20 m / 47.2 inch Weight: 17 Kg / 37 lb
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 09
Burnished st eel Brushed brass 4 x tube lamps, clear, 60 W Height-adjust able 3 axles up to one Flexible brass tubes Max. height: 1,10 m / 43.3 inch Length: 1,20 m / 47.2 inch Weight: 17 Kg / 37 lb
MACHINE LIGHT Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Text ile cables f lexible brass tubes Tubular bulb, 1 x 60W H. 40 cm / H. 15.7 inch L. 42 cm / W. 16.1 inch Weight: 7 Kg / 16.5 lb
NO. 11
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 12
Burnished st eel Brushed brass Adjust able ref lector shades Text ile cables 3 x f ilament globe bulbs, 40W B: 44 cm / W: 17.5 inch H: 42 cm / H: 17 inch
MACHINE LIGHT NO.
13
Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Text ile cables Globe bulb, 1 x 60W Height adjust able up to 85 cm / 33,5 inch Length: 100 cm / 39,4 inch Brass shade: diamet er 25 cm / 9,8 inch
MACHINE LIGHT
NO. 10
Desk light, two light ing arms Height and lengths adjust able 3 axles and 1 t elescope per Light ing arm (rot a t able) Burnished st eel Brushed brass 2 x tube lamps, 100 W Flexible brass tubes Length: 1,2 m / 47 inch Weight: 22 Kg / 49 lb
MACHINE LIGHT NO. Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Text ile cables Mult iple f ilament bulb 2 x 60W B. 40cm / W. 15.8 inch H. 27cm / H. 10.6 inch
04
MACHINE LIGHT Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Spirally f ilament bulb 2 x 40W Text ile cables B. 44 cm / W. 17.3 inch H. 70 cm / H. 27.5 inch
NO. 07
TABLE LIGHT TYPE A Burnished st eel Brushed brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Text ile cables Base: American walnut Cot ton shade (custom-print) B. 30 cm / W. 11.8 inch H. 63 cm / H. 24.8 inch
TABLE LIGHT TYPE B Burnished st eel Brushed brass and burnished brass Volt age: 230 V / 110V Text ile cables Cot ton shade (custom-print) B. 30 cm / W. 11.8 inch H. 63 cm / H. 24.8 inch
MANUFACTURING The Machine Lights series comprises 12 dif f erent models produced in low volume product ion. Each object is manually produced f rom up to 200 individual par ts (Including hand-made globe, t ype 01). Each light is therefore unique. St eel and brass par ts produced f rom raw st eel and brass, and burnished by hand, crea t ing a black surf ace structure. The brass par ts are given a f ine f inish and the st eel par ts are trea t ed with the silky ma t t f inish. The volt age is 230V (110V with volt age conver t er). The lights are wired with black and yellow t ext ile cables, par t ially encased in f lexible brass tubes. Industrial bulbs and light tubes with visible f ilaments or yellow surf ace evapora t ion allow the Machine Lights an ef f ect ive glow. The low volume product ion t akes place in Berlin, Germany and requires a delivery t ime of 3 months and more depending on the model. Custom models are designed and produced on request.
THE WORKSHOP The workshop is loca t ed in a t ypical Berlin industrial cour t yard f rom the t ime af t er 1871. It houses ar t ists and a group of craf tsmen in woodwork, woodcar ving, and glass f abrica t ion. So we have a wideranging network of qualif ied people to work with. We produce using modern t echnologies like laser cut t ing, as well as tradit ional met alwork, crea t ively combining tradit ional methods. We are specialized in the design and manuf acture of furniture and lights, exclusively hand-made in our own workshop. In 2002 Frank Buchwald changed the emphasis of his work to a more purely ar t ist ic focus on light objects.
STUDIO BOPPSTR.5 10967 BERLIN 3nd backyard/3rd f loor
OFFICE SCHLOSSSTR.61 14059 BERLIN GERMANY PHONE: +49 (0) 30 - 34 70 48 02 FAX: +49 (0) 30 - 34 70 48 01 MOBILE: +49 (0) 178 627 31 95 info@f rankbuchwald.com w w w.f rankbuchwald.com