Miracoco luminarium

[Cem_Usakligil]

Yesterday I have seen something which I have never seen before; a lumiarium. These are huge, balloon like sculptures inflated by pressured air. One goes inside (without shoes) to experience the various shapes and passages but the main attraction is the incredible light. By making use of only the sunlight, the makers (Alan Parkinson and Architects of Air) have created light sculptures in various shades of blue, red, yellow and green. Their web site describes luminaria as follows:

...Each luminarium is a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes where Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring monument to the beauty of light and colour.

The luminaria are designed by company founder, Alan Parkinson, who started experimenting with pneumatic sculptures in the I980s. They are made of a plastic produced uniquely for Architects of Air. Only four colours of plastic are used to generate a great diversity of subtle hues.

Each luminarium is an original design. The principal difference between the different luminaria is found in the rendering of the domes and in the layout of the tunnels.

The domes are the large chambers rising up to 10 metres high that provide the focal points. The tunnels connect the domes and determine the journey the visitor will take. The luminaria also feature ‘pods’ - alcoves where people can sit and relax out of the way of the other visitors.

Each luminarium is made up of around 20 elements that are zipped together on site to typically occupy an area of 1000 square metres. Easy to erect, laying out the structure and anchoring can take as little as 4 hours then, in just 20 minutes, the luminarium is inflated to its monumental size.

Their Miracoco luminarium has been setup in Antwerp, Belgium for the duration of July, which is the one I have visited. Without further ado, here are some pictures I took. Enjoy and please let me have your feedback or C&C.

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more in the next post.....

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

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more in the next post.....

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

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[Asher Kelman]

Cem,

These are amazingly immersive worlds that must allow folk to be transported away from hardships and real life issues to a world of delight and fantasy.

So how did you get all these perfect kids to pose like that? The hug is so wonderful!

I have never heard of them either! How these gigantic immersive sculptural worlds can hide from general knowledge is simply a huge enigma to me! They say the Luminarium sculptures have been shown to hundreds of thousands of people for umpteen years already, (4 exhibitions touring around the world), so why aren't they part of our embedded vocabulary and culture, like Cirque de Soleil?

Asher

 

[Maggie Terlecki]

Wow, Cem. These are amazing. They give me the impression of some sort of womb. Oddly comforting. The colors are incredible and knowing the light is created just by sunlight is interesting as it certainly makes the set-up much less complicated. I'm surprised at the small amount of people on the inside; you'd think something like this would be full to the brim with people which would obviously change the sense of comfort that I see here. I imagine only a small amount of people are allowed in at a time.
I love your photographs also. You have created these small vignettes showing the wonder they seem to all be feeling. I notice people slowing down and just being taken away with the experience. Most everyone today seem so blasé about everything, but here they look about with different eyes. It's great to see. I would love to experience this also.

 

[Asher Kelman]

The exhibition is coming to Los Angeles in September. I'll make sure to go.

so how does it work, Cem? Is there a hefty entrance fee? Do they have special times for families or people with disabilities? Do they let the crowds come in or limit to so many people per hour?

Also, what's the entrance fee generally?

Asher

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Wow, Cem. These are amazing. They give me the impression of some sort of womb. Oddly comforting. The colors are incredible and knowing the light is created just by sunlight is interesting as it certainly makes the set-up much less complicated. I'm surprised at the small amount of people on the inside; you'd think something like this would be full to the brim with people which would obviously change the sense of comfort that I see here. I imagine only a small amount of people are allowed in at a time.
I love your photographs also. You have created these small vignettes showing the wonder they seem to all be feeling. I notice people slowing down and just being taken away with the experience. Most everyone today seem so blasé about everything, but here they look about with different eyes. It's great to see. I would love to experience this also.

Thanks Maggie,

The womb analogy is quite appropriate if you ask me. The atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. We have gone there on a Sunday afternoon when the weather was very good for a change. So not many people there, most of them were at the beach or the like. Also, it was very warm inside. They allow a maximum of 80 people at a time.

Regarding the photos, I'm glad to hear that you like them, cheers.

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Hi Asher,

The exhibition is coming to Los Angeles in September. I'll make sure to go.

so how does it work, Cem? Is there a hefty entrance fee? Do they have special times for families or people with disabilities? Do they let the crowds come in or limit to so many people per hour?

Also, what's the entrance fee generally?

Asher

Yes, make sure you visit it if you can. The entrance fee is peanuts, just 2 euros for adults ($ 2.60).
In Antwerp they had no special times for families or disabled peopled. Maybe they might have it in LA, I'm not sure.
The limit is maximum 80 people inside. The exit times are not limited but if it is very crowded then they recommend people not to stay very long.

Cem,

These are amazingly immersive worlds that must allow folk to be transported away from hardships and real life issues to a world of delight and fantasy.

So how did you get all these perfect kids to pose like that? The hug is so wonderful!

I have never heard of them either! How these gigantic immersive sculptural worlds can hide from general knowledge is simply a huge enigma to me! They say the Luminarium sculptures have been shown to hundreds of thousands of people for umpteen years already, (4 exhibitions touring around the world), so why aren't they part of our embedded vocabulary and culture, like Cirque de Soleil?

Asher

Thanks for the comments. As I wrote I too didn't hear about them before. Pity really. They deserve better marketing.

 

[Jarmo Juntunen]

Great series, I like the display of colours and form. The first ones remind me of some forgotten 60's hippy acidy scifi film, where as the later ones with people give me a warm feel.

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Great series, I like the display of colours and form. The first ones remind me of some forgotten 60's hippy acidy scifi film, where as the later ones with people give me a warm feel.

Yeah, almost like Tron, isn't it? The people inside were having a great time as you can see in the pictures. It was very warm, also literally.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Cem,

Your pictures are divine. Each has a unique "angelic innocence" and totally romantic, what one could only wish for, ideal human innocence. So, is all this the marvel of the sculpture? Did you in fact interact with any of the people you photographed - smile at them or get permission? I couldn't have done better had I hired the lot and had a team of acting coaches help pose them!

Are any of them made up of several images?

I'm also interested in the fact that you show all the children's faces. Now I have no issue with that, but Nicolas blurs the faces. So what's your position/protocol?

I know customs are very different. Frank Doorhof told me once that folk rarely would photograph people in the street in the Netherlands. When he was with me in, walking the fancy streets in Beverly Hills he was so surprised and uncomfortable at my photographing of passers by, adults and children, even with a long lens

Asher

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Cem,

Your pictures are divine. Each has a unique "angelic innocence" and totally romantic, what one could only wish for, ideal human innocence. So, is all this the marvel of the sculpture? Did you in fact interact with any of the people you photographed - smile at them or get permission? I couldn't have done better had I hired the lot and had a team of acting coaches help pose them!

Are any of them made up of several images?

I'm also interested in the fact that you show all the children's faces. Now I have no issue with that, but Nicolas blurs the faces. So what's your position/protocol?

I know customs are very different. Frank Doorhof told me once that folk rarely would photograph people in the street in the Netherlands. When he was with me in, walking the fancy streets in Beverly Hills he was so surprised and uncomfortable at my photographing of passers by, adults and children, even with a long lens

Asher

Yes, there was a lot of interaction, people were very friendly and talkative. Everyone was impressed by this exceptional environment. They all were aware of me taking pictures, except for a few who were further away. But I wasn't the only one with a camera, everybody else was shooting away. I must be in a few hundred pictures myself, lol. Regarding the photographing of people in the Netherlands, as Frank said, is not an easy task. But once people are in a special environment such as this one, they already know that they will be taking pictures and so will everybody else around them. They drop down their defenses. BTW, this was in Belgium but the same situation applies nevertheless.

Regarding the showing of the faces of children, I do not have a problem with it here since the parents gave their verbal or non-verbal consent for me to take those pictures. Besides, my pictures do not show children in any manner which can be seen as derogatory or negative. Lastly, even though one can argue about breaching privacies, the fact is that nobody knows who those children are, where they live, etc. To me, they are just generic faces.

PS: all pictures are as taken: no composites, no stitches, no cloning, no cropping and no HDR.

 

[nicolas claris]

Cem, c'est superbe !
Although I doubt that sRGB gives justice to your work!

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Cem, c'est superbe !
Although I doubt that sRGB gives justice to your work!

Merci Nicolas. You are oh so right! The pictures have an incredible gamut and they literallý pop and shine on my Adobe RGB capable monitor.

 

[Asher Kelman]

PS: all pictures are as taken: no composites, no stitches, no cloning, no cropping and no HDR.

Cem,

The developing of skills is a long road. The ability to exploit them is thrilling. You must have a lot of satisfaction from this series!

I personally will never forget these images. Somehow these structures seem therapeutic, but why?

Maggie brought up the memory of "Being in the womb" and to me it fits. The idea of entering this sculpture being "wombing", (bringing us back to a prenatal state), is a very intriguing concept. Scientifically, it would appear at first consideration, far-fetched. After all, so much of the brain is not myelinated and lacks development at full gestation. But perhaps primitive centers are already recording and hold this basic comforting, soothing experience in long term memory. It would make sense that the characteristics ,(of the comfort, insulation, warmth and tranquility of the womb), should become basic building blocks and references for calibrating other human experiences in the developing infant child and adult.

Now I will be forced to read up on any objective studies demonstrating memories of the womb, LOL!!



Asher

 

[Antonio Correia]

What a fantastic place to visit !

I have to tell my son to go and visit when in LA !

The images are great Cem, really. Amazing atmosphere inside...

 

[James Lemon]

Awesome set of images Cem !