insperation

Thomas Wilfred with a later work, Lumia

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.

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