Review: All of the Lights

I recently bought All of the Lights by Stephanie Keefe and Isaac Budmen which tells the story of their installation of 100 unique 3D printed lamps. (Isaac and I worked together a few years back to create the Interactive Art Synthesizer.) The full-color hardcover book has sections on the design, fabrication and installation as well as full page photos of all 100 lamps. While the use of text is sparing, the combination of drawings, renders and photos gives you a sense of the mind of the artist at work in imagining and realizing the project. I appreciate the detailed photos and contemplation of the unique characteristics of 3D printed objects. The optimistic spirit that Issac and Stephanie present about the future of digital fabrication is inspiring.

I am adding All of the Lights to my makerspace library. When a students is stuck and can only see a single solution to a problem they can look through the book as inspiration. Creating a lamp might seem like a trivial problem with only a few parameters but these unique designs hint at the infinite possibilities. Looking through the high-resolution photos I imagined seashells, desserts, gears, ballgowns and space ships.

I think this book is well worth checking out.

What is your favorite 3D printed art installation? Leave a comment or connect via Twitter @DesignMakeTeach.