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Installation

Geometry of Light: Farnsworth House

October 11-October 13, 2019

MAS Context, the Farnsworth House, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation organized Geometry of Light, an art intervention by Luftwerk in collaboration with Iker Gil, that was installed at the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. The art installation coincided with the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Contributors

Geometry of Light is a three-night light and sound art installation in the iconic Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe, and on the surrounding land. Completed in 1951 and opened to the public in 2004, the Farnsworth House was the weekend home of Chicago research physician Dr. Edith Farnsworth. This outdoor intervention will uncover the forgotten history of the site and remnants of earlier landscape by revealing the underlying geometries that relate the world-renowned house to its river floodplain, site topography, and key trees that no longer exist.

In concert with the projected light, a custom-designed sound piece by Oriol Tarragó is integral to this experience. Developed in direct response to the site, this auditory component uses the pitch of the space to create a tonal reading. Together these elements provide a new interpretation of the Farnsworth House and its extraordinary location.

Geometry of Light premiered this past February at the German Pavilion in Barcelona designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. The installation was presented as part of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe’s ongoing program of artistic interventions also corresponding with the LLUM BCN Festival and the Santa Eulàlia Festival.

Geometry of Light is part of the Year of German-American Friendship 2018|19 initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Goethe-Institut, and is supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). This project is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and Bosch Power Tools – North America. Additional support provided by Chuck Thurow, Virtue Cider, and many individual donors.

Project organized by

MAS Context
Farnsworth House
National Trust for Historic Preservation

Leading institutional support by

Wunderbar Together
German Federal Foreign Office
Goethe-Institut
Federation of German Industries (BDI)
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Bosch Power Tools – North America

The leading individual support

Chuck Thurow

Project is also supported by

Paola Aguirre
Leslie Bodenstein
Will Forrest
Joanne Gross
Tom Lee
Ann Lui
Jason Pickleman
Craig Reschke
Tom Rossiter
Virtue Cider

Project identity by Normal.

Geometry of Light is a partner program of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Cab partner program logo
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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Geometry of Light, Farnsworth House, 2019. © Kate Joyce.

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Contributor Bios

Contributor

Bio

Contact

Luftwerk

Luftwerk explores light, color, and perception in immersive, installations. Focused on the context of a site for each project, Luftwerk applies their interpretive layer, integrating physical structure, historical context, and embedded information into each piece. Since founding 2007, Luftwerk has amassed a significant body of work ranging from site-specific installations to experimental projects that interpret data. Luftwerk is the artistic collaboration of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero.

Iker Gil

Iker Gil is a founding partner at MAS Studio, editor in chief of the nonprofit MAS Context, and executive director of the SOM Foundation. Iker has edited or coedited several books including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming. He has curated multiple exhibitions including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was Associate Curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale and cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021. He was the 2024 Morgenstern Visiting Chairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Escola da Cidade (São Paulo).

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