Released by Fusion Glass Designs:
Luciano Berio: a life portrayed in ‘Moving Dreamspaces’ at London’s Festival Hall thanks to SentryGlas Expressions
London, March 2004. British artist Dody Nash has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall at London’s South Bank Centre, to produce a series of video/plasma ‘Moving Dreamspaces” incorporating DuPont SentryGlas Expressions laminated decorative glass technology, to celebrate the life and work of the celebrated contemporary Italian composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003). The decorative laminated glass for this project is produced by leading UK architectural glass firm Fusion Glass Designs Ltd. of Clapham, London.
Nash’s ‘Moving Dreamspaces’ constitutes the first British installation featuring SentryGlas Expressions. The artwork will be a central feature of the Festival Hall’s Omaggio a Berio Festival and will be positioned in a ‘Berio Lounge’, open to the public for six weeks from 19th March 2004 onwards. The lounge is entirely designed by Nash and also incorporates DuPont Corian for ‘Listening Shells’ – an innovative interactive listening experience concept by Nash and co-designed with product designer Julian Brown, using sound elements created by Sound Intermedia, London.
This is the first time that SentryGlas Expressions has been used in combination with plasma video screens. Nash said: “By placing plasma video screens horizontally underneath a layer of SentryGlas Expressions decorative glass that contains static images – photos of Berio, extracts from his musical scores and other photos and scenery from Italy that influenced his life – the viewer is encouraged to consider the films more carefully. The laminated decorative glass also protects the plasma screens very effectively.
“SentryGlas Expressions is a revolutionary new way for designers and artists to access decorative glass technology that could only be harnessed by silkscreen specialists until now – and to my mind, the results are much more satisfying in terms of reproduction, speed and flexibility – that is, in accurate reproductive quality, particularly the consistency of carrying thin lines over relatively long distances – and of viewing, and working on, the end result ahead of production. Graphically, the results are a lot cleaner, sharper and whiter than I would have imagined possible – I’m really pleased.”
The installation consists of two sets of three, 3m x 1m and 750cm high tables, laid out as a zigzag. Six pieces of laminated glass with a total 13.5mm thickness and dimensions of 2,991 x 991mm were used. There is one transparent interlayer and the underneath of the glass is sandblasted. Naňs table frames are in a specially commissioned, white edition with an extruded aluminium frame specifically manufactured to incorporate SentryGlas Expressions by Unifor S.p.A., Italy. Plasma screens by Pioneer PDP-433 MXE (43”) running to an Apple G5 which is housed externally to the tables. Images were scanned in LinoColour Elite and manipulated in Photoshop 7 to 150 dpi in CYMK. Images of Luciano Berio are copyright of the Berio Estate. The installation was completed by Sound Intermedia of London and The Royal Festival Hall South Bank Centre’s technical team.
Adam Clemson, director of Fusion Glass Designs, described the process of working with SentryGlas Expressions technology as straightforward. “SentryGlas Expressions gives us the ability to creatively combine art and technology, allowing any artwork or design to be easily integrated into a laminated safety glass. This opens up a huge range of possibilities for architects and designers to create unique and distinctive statements from small one off commissions to complete structural glass facades.”
DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions provides materials, technology and services in support of safer, quieter and more resource-efficient buildings and vehicles. The business offers the glass industry’s widest range of interlayer choices including unique high strength and visual design solutions. DuPont Glass Laminating Solutions sales are reported as part of DuPont’s US$ 5 billion Performance Materials growth platform.
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To find out more about SentryGlas® Expressions:visit www.dupont.com/safetyglass
To read more articles about architectural and design work incorporating SentryGlas® Expressions and other products from Glass Laminating Solutions visit our monthly online magazine www.laminatedglassnews.com
For more information on the work of Dody Nash please visit www.dodynash.com
The Berio Lounge will be open to the public from 19th March until 3rd May 2004 (excluding 7th – 17th April)
The Omaggio a Berio Festival is from 15th – 30th April 2004
The South Bank Centre’s Berio Festival is sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute and the Berio Lounge is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Please visit www.sbc.org.uk
For more information on Fusion Glass Designs visit www.fusionglass.co.uk
