Burns for hours, stays moist, and outdoors the flame is protected from the winds…
And, if you get hungry, you can roast and eat the turnip.

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An interview on the Etsy Blog inspired by my talk at Urban Design Week 2011.

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While lighting design has finally evolved into a legitimate, recognized field of practice, its evolution as a field of study is lagging behind. There is as yet no cannon: no body of principles accepted as axiomatic or universally binding in our field of study. Nor do we have a comprehensive list of texts deemed relevant to our field. There is practice, lots of practice. Some practitioners have taken the time to document and present their work to the benefit of our and neighboring fields. However, we do not, as yet, have the tools for transforming the lessons learned from individuals’ lighting practice into a formal knowledge base. We are still in the early stages of building a conceptual framework and models of discourse that can contribute to the development of a rich and nuanced cannon.

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Tillett Lighting Design in collaboration with Choreographers Jon Kinzel and Jodi Melnick created “Available Light” for Open House New York 2011.

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A talk by Linnaea Tillett and Deborah Gans for Urban Design Week 2011, the Institute for Urban Design, on September 19th, 2011.

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Significant as the advances in lighting technology have been, they are outstripped by our ideas of what we want historic lighting to achieve. Historic lighting is increasingly expected to fulfill a bulging portfolio of desires: to express the sublimity of memory; bring out detail in form through subtle plays of light and shadow; conform to LEED standards; meet the expectations of users who spend their work lives in evenly-lit bright spaces; require low-maintenance; cost as little as possible; and be programmatically flexible so as to address multipurpose needs—i.e., performance, respite, worship, scholarship, etc.

From the perspective of a lighting designer and environmental psychologist, the assumption that a skillful use of technology combined with a clear delineation of program can accomplish a satisfactory outcome has reached its limits. It is time to step back and open up a dialogue that goes beyond the usual statements about desires, needs and budget. Simply put—we are going to have to make some choices. If we don’t make them, the technological limitations will make them for us. I propose some lines of inquiry to assist in making those choices…

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