Thomas Wilfred
Encyclopedia
Thomas Wilfred born Richard Edgar Løvstrom, was a musician and inventor. He is best known for his visual music
he named lumia and his designs for color organ
s called Clavilux
. Wilfred was not fond of the term "color organ", and coined the word "Clavilux" from Latin meaning "light played by key".
, and found early success as "Wilfred the Lute Player" traveling Europe and America performing minstrel songs on the archaic lute.
Around 1905 Wilfred began to experiment with bits of colored glass and light sources. After moving to New York he, along with Claude Fayette Bragdon
and 'Kirk' Kirkpatrick Brice co-founded a group of Theosophists called the Prometheans. The Prometheans were dedicated to exploring spiritual matters through modern artistic expression. Brice served also as patron to the group.
While many people had experimented with light as an artistic medium (most notably the color organs) Wilfred was the first to speak of light as a formal artform. He coined the term "lumia" to describe "an eighth art" where light would stand on its own as an expressive artform. Wilfred was passionate that Lumia should be a silent art.
Wilfred's mechanisms were often complex designs that have been described as from the "Rube Goldberg
school". He was a trained artist, but had little mechanical schooling. That said, his devices were very sturdy, and many still function with most of the original parts.
In 1919, Wilfred constructed the Clavilux
Model A in his Long Island studio (located on the Brice estate). The first public recital came in 1922 and featured performances on the Clavilux Model B for audiences at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. The press was highly receptive. In the audience that first night was Leopold Stokowski
.
The Clavilux was a complex instrument which allowed a person to create and perform Lumia compositions. Later models B-H were touring and lecture models, the last one being built prior to WWII.
Wilfred founded the Art Institute of Light, which had a recital hall in Chelsea, and then later at the Grand Central Palace.
World War II found the Grand Central Palace theatre turned into an Army induction center, and Wilfred did his part for the Allies by serving as a translator.
After the war, Wilfred no longer performed Clavilux recitals, concentrating his work on recorded Lumia and theatrical projection.
Wilfred was also an early pioneer in working with projected scenery for the theatre. His initial success in this was a 1930 Broadway production of Ibsen's The Vikings. Wilfred did seminal work in the 1950s with the University of Washington
's John Ashby Conway in this field.
Starting in 1931, he began to shift his emphasis with lumia from concert recitals to museum and gallery exhibitions.
exhibition 15 Americans alongside Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock
, Willem de Kooning
, and Mark Rothko
. At this point in his career, Wilfred shifted from a musical to a painting based analogy for Lumia in an attempt to explain it to the broader public.
The Museum of Modern Art owns three Wilfred Lumia compositions, and many artists of the Psychedelic era were inspired to work with light after seeing the MoMA compositions. Because of his influence on this generation of artists, Wilfred's final work "Lucatta, Opus 162" was included in the "Summer of Love" exhibition, which was hosted by the Whitney Museum in the spring of 2007.
There are only about 30 extant Clavilux Jr. and Lumia compositions. Wilfred has explicitly stated his objections to recording Lumia works on film (in his writings collected in Thomas Wilfred's Clavilux), making the survival of his works dependent on the existence of his machines. Most of the still extant works are in the Epstein Collection, and the Epstein family has been very generous, loaning Lumia compositions to museums world wide. In 2003, two of the original Clavilux (Models E & G) were rescued from an East Village eviction dumpster, and are now stored in Seattle, WA awaiting restoration by the Epsteins.
In 2011 an image of the Lumia work "Opus 161" was featured at several important points in the Terrence Malick
film The Tree of Life.
Visual music
Visual music, sometimes called "colour music," refers to the use of musical structures in visual imagery, which can also include silent films or silent Lumia work. It also refers to methods or devices which can translate sounds or music into a related visual presentation...
he named lumia and his designs for color organ
Color organ
The term color organ refers to a tradition of mechanical , then electromechanical, devices built to represent sound or to accompany music in a visual medium—by any number of means. In the early 20th century, a silent color organ tradition developed...
s called Clavilux
Clavilux
Clavilux is the term coined by the artist Thomas Wilfred to refer to his mechanical invention that allowed the creation and performance of Lumia, which was Wilfred's term for Light Art.From Latin, Clavilux means "Light played by key."...
. Wilfred was not fond of the term "color organ", and coined the word "Clavilux" from Latin meaning "light played by key".
Biography
Wilfred's father ran a photography studio, and young Wilfred was exposed to the arts at a young age. He studied painting and poetry in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and found early success as "Wilfred the Lute Player" traveling Europe and America performing minstrel songs on the archaic lute.
Around 1905 Wilfred began to experiment with bits of colored glass and light sources. After moving to New York he, along with Claude Fayette Bragdon
Claude Fayette Bragdon
Claude Fayette Bragdon was an American architect, writer, and stage designer based in Rochester, New York, up to World War I, then in New York City....
and 'Kirk' Kirkpatrick Brice co-founded a group of Theosophists called the Prometheans. The Prometheans were dedicated to exploring spiritual matters through modern artistic expression. Brice served also as patron to the group.
While many people had experimented with light as an artistic medium (most notably the color organs) Wilfred was the first to speak of light as a formal artform. He coined the term "lumia" to describe "an eighth art" where light would stand on its own as an expressive artform. Wilfred was passionate that Lumia should be a silent art.
Wilfred's mechanisms were often complex designs that have been described as from the "Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
school". He was a trained artist, but had little mechanical schooling. That said, his devices were very sturdy, and many still function with most of the original parts.
In 1919, Wilfred constructed the Clavilux
Clavilux
Clavilux is the term coined by the artist Thomas Wilfred to refer to his mechanical invention that allowed the creation and performance of Lumia, which was Wilfred's term for Light Art.From Latin, Clavilux means "Light played by key."...
Model A in his Long Island studio (located on the Brice estate). The first public recital came in 1922 and featured performances on the Clavilux Model B for audiences at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. The press was highly receptive. In the audience that first night was Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
.
The Clavilux was a complex instrument which allowed a person to create and perform Lumia compositions. Later models B-H were touring and lecture models, the last one being built prior to WWII.
Wilfred founded the Art Institute of Light, which had a recital hall in Chelsea, and then later at the Grand Central Palace.
World War II found the Grand Central Palace theatre turned into an Army induction center, and Wilfred did his part for the Allies by serving as a translator.
After the war, Wilfred no longer performed Clavilux recitals, concentrating his work on recorded Lumia and theatrical projection.
Wilfred was also an early pioneer in working with projected scenery for the theatre. His initial success in this was a 1930 Broadway production of Ibsen's The Vikings. Wilfred did seminal work in the 1950s with the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
's John Ashby Conway in this field.
Clavilux works
Starting in the late 20's Wilfred began to create smaller, less complex Lumia devices, some were meant for home exhibition, while others were designed for installation in museums and art galleries:- Tabeltop Clavilux, or "Luminar"
- Home Clavilux, or "Clavilux Jr."
- Home Clavilux (these differed from the Clavilux Jr.)
- Recorded Lumia Compositions
Starting in 1931, he began to shift his emphasis with lumia from concert recitals to museum and gallery exhibitions.
Exhibitions
In 1951, he was included in the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
exhibition 15 Americans alongside Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
, and Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
. At this point in his career, Wilfred shifted from a musical to a painting based analogy for Lumia in an attempt to explain it to the broader public.
The Museum of Modern Art owns three Wilfred Lumia compositions, and many artists of the Psychedelic era were inspired to work with light after seeing the MoMA compositions. Because of his influence on this generation of artists, Wilfred's final work "Lucatta, Opus 162" was included in the "Summer of Love" exhibition, which was hosted by the Whitney Museum in the spring of 2007.
There are only about 30 extant Clavilux Jr. and Lumia compositions. Wilfred has explicitly stated his objections to recording Lumia works on film (in his writings collected in Thomas Wilfred's Clavilux), making the survival of his works dependent on the existence of his machines. Most of the still extant works are in the Epstein Collection, and the Epstein family has been very generous, loaning Lumia compositions to museums world wide. In 2003, two of the original Clavilux (Models E & G) were rescued from an East Village eviction dumpster, and are now stored in Seattle, WA awaiting restoration by the Epsteins.
In 2011 an image of the Lumia work "Opus 161" was featured at several important points in the Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick is a U.S. film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning almost four decades, Malick has directed five feature films....
film The Tree of Life.
See also
- Clavier à lumièresClavier à lumièresThe clavier à lumières , or tastiéra per luce, as it appears in the score, was a musical instrument invented by Alexander Scriabin for use in his work Prometheus: Poem of Fire. However, only one version of this instrument was constructed, for the performance of Prometheus: Poem of Fire in New York...
- Color organColor organThe term color organ refers to a tradition of mechanical , then electromechanical, devices built to represent sound or to accompany music in a visual medium—by any number of means. In the early 20th century, a silent color organ tradition developed...
- Louis Bertrand CastelLouis Bertrand CastelLouis Bertrand Castel was a French mathematician born in Montpellier, and entered the order of the Jesuits in 1703. Having studied literature, he afterwards devoted himself entirely to mathematics and natural philosophy...
- Mary Hallock-GreenewaltMary Hallock-GreenewaltMary Elizabeth Hallock-Greenewalt was an inventor and pianist who performed with the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh symphonies as a soloist...
- Oskar FischingerOskar FischingerOskar Fischinger was a German-American abstract animator, filmmaker, and painter. He made over 50 short animated films, and painted c. 800 canvases, many of which are in museums, galleries and collections worldwide. Among his film works is Motion Painting No. 1 , which is now listed on the...
- William MoritzWilliam MoritzWilliam Moritz , film historian, specialized in visual music and experimental animation. His principal published works concerned abstract filmmaker and painter Oskar Fischinger...
Further reading
- Klein, Adrian Bernard, Coloured Light An Art Medium 3rd ed. (London: The Technical Press, 1937)
- Rimington, Alexander Wallace, Colour-Music: The Art Of Mobile Colour (London: Hutchinson, 1912)