Luminar #52

With his equipment, light artist Thomas Wilfred (1889–1968), born in Denmark, created a new form of art at the intersection of technology and modern art. His lumia compositions – meditative, colourful echoes of the northern lights – that he displayed in silence, without musical accompaniment, were shown in 1952 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Luminar #52, one of Wilfred’s first constructions, was a Clavilux – a colour organ – with an aluminium housing. An electric motor drives a 500-watt lamp and two coloured glass wheels. On the top of the device is a reflective cone that produces distortion and shapes the light as it is projected onto the ceiling. Nine of the Luminars were made in 1928, of which three survive. “Luminar #52” has been adapted to be experienced in the Dome.