Bill Curry

American designer Bill Curry (1927–1971) captured the zeitgeist of the 1960s and ‘70s

with his iconic lamp designs. From his unique Los Angeles vantage point at the meeting

point of art, design and engineering, during an era defined by the space race, pop

culture and a new forward-looking optimism, he translated the wonder and delight he

saw around him into simple yet intelligent ideas with clear visual narratives. Credited

with developing the first ‘total look’ lamp forms — eliminating the base-bulb-shade

concept and instead exploiting the bare bulb in a playful, self-contained unit — he was

recognized as one of California’s leading designers by the time he died at the age of

just 43.

From the first human-made object touching the lunar surface in 1959 to Neil Armstrong’s

first steps on the Moon in 1969, the era was dubbed the ‘space age’ and its aesthetics

influenced a generation. The modernism that had characterized American architecture

since the 1930s evolved into a futuristic style influenced by the space race as well as

emerging car culture, jet engines, pop trends, and the ‘Atomic Age’. From his beach

house in Playa del Rey, Curry watched the jets flying over Los Angeles Airport and,

imagined a future shaped by new technologies.

He absorbed all these influences and ideas to develop a new norm for lighting — a

single piece that combined stand, bulb and shade into one organic, yet bold and

colorful ‘LA spacepop’ form, fit for tomorrow’s world. His space-age ‘total look’ lamps

were an instant hit – Industrial Design Magazine awarded his collection the accolade of

‘Best Lamps of the Year’ and the US Department of Commerce showcased his Stemlite

Collection in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Iraq, as exemplars of American design.

Louis Weisdorf

Louis Weisdorf (1932–2021) was a well-known Danish architect and industrial designer.

After becoming one of the youngest designers to graduate from the Royal Danish

Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1954, he worked across graphic, interior,

architectural and industrial design. Weisdorf described himself as a specialist in

versatility, which sums up the prodigious and notable career of this multi-faceted

designer.

In 1961, he started a ten-year assignment at Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in

Copenhagen, working as assistant to the chief architect Simon P. Henningsen. It was

here that he created the Konkylie (‘conch’) Lamp in 1964, with its innovative vertically-

hung concentric slats — his first foray into lighting design. The anodised gold light

hung from trees throughout the Tivoli Gardens until very recently and was also put into

production despite initial fears that it would be impossible to recreate.

Weisdorf opened his own architectural firm in 1967 in Copenhagen, sharing the

premises with architect Ole Panton (the younger brother of Verner Panton), where he

served both national and international clients and worked closely with Verner Panton

and Poul Henningsen. He designed, among other things, the former ticket office for the

Harbour and Canal Tour in Copenhagen.

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