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Thomas Wilfred: Clavilux and Lumia Home Models
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May 2, 2025
Born in 1889, the Dane Thomas Wilfred (née Richard Edgar Løvstrøm) was a proponent of a new art form he called Lumia, abstract shapes of various colors, perpetually changing, produced by a machine equipped with light bulbs, mirrors, colored discs, various buttons and motors, and sometimes keyboards, which projected swirling swaths of colors across walls and ceilings, the rhythmic flow of shapes and patterns rarely corresponding to the flows of music. It was not to be confused with devices such as Scriabin’s color-note organ for two reasons: Wilfred wanted Lumia to be appreciated for itself, by itself, and he didn’t believe in synesthesia (a neurological condition Scriabin had, in which different note tones corresponded to different color tones). To that end, Wilfred design, built, and tested a number of devices for spaces as large as auditoriums and as intimate as a home living room (those shown throughout this book). Home devices were designed to look like ordinary furniture while not in use.
The home devices did not allow users to manipulate the images. However, different parts of the device had different durations, so that, for instance, 51 hours might transpire before the piece repeated itself. (This predates by nearly a century visual works like Brian Eno’s generative 77 Million Paintings, which requires 400 years before the combinations restart.)
Although Wilfred preferred silent demonstrations of his Lumia devices, such as the Clavilux, musicians and their audiences craved accompaniment, including a performance of symphonic music in tandem with the Lumia, conducted by Leopold Stakowski. Because of the abstract nature of the images, in 1952 Wilfred was included in an exhibit of the new movement call abstract expressionism at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
The home devices did not allow users to manipulate the images. However, different parts of the device had different durations, so that, for instance, 51 hours might transpire before the piece repeated itself. (This predates by nearly a century visual works like Brian Eno’s generative 77 Million Paintings, which requires 400 years before the combinations restart.)
Although Wilfred preferred silent demonstrations of his Lumia devices, such as the Clavilux, musicians and their audiences craved accompaniment, including a performance of symphonic music in tandem with the Lumia, conducted by Leopold Stakowski. Because of the abstract nature of the images, in 1952 Wilfred was included in an exhibit of the new movement call abstract expressionism at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...
Displaying 1 of 1 review