ARCHITECTS OF AIR
Watch your step as you take in the Luminarium as it's not unusual to find some practicing yoga or meditating on the floor.
As attendants will tell you upon entering the breathtaking Luminarium display at Bishop Museum, there are only two rules to observe when participating in such a fantastic, otherworldly spectacle: no running, no jumping. For the most part, visitors are free to roam about and do as they please in the nearly 12,000-foot PVC structure. Museum exhibit
lights up lives
By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comWhile most choose to enjoy a leisurely stroll around the Luminarium, it's not unusual to find others practicing yoga or indulging in meditation exercises in one of the walk-in exhibit's many "pods." As evidenced by the gaggles of children romping through the display over the weekend, the experience is one enjoyed by all ages. The Luminarium exhibit continues through Jan. 5.
Since 1985, designer Alan Parkinson's Nottingham, England-based Architects of Air have manufactured 10 one-of-a-kind Luminaria sculptures. The model visiting Honolulu is called Arcazzar, which at 11,840 square feet matches another cavernous sculpture, Ixilum, as Architects of Air's largest structures. Luminaria exhibits typically average 1,000 curious visitors daily and have been viewed by more than 1 million people around the world since 1992. Architects of Air hopes to fashion a new structure each year.
Where: Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St. The Kraft Luminarium
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Jan. 5
Admission: $6 general; children under 3 admitted free
Call: 847-3511
The Luminaria sculptures are made completely by hand from a special flexible, fire-retardant PVC material, and each design typically takes about four months to build. While assembling different portions of the structure for display takes some effort, inflation time is surprisingly short.
"It takes the best part of a day to lay one of these out and put it all together," says Shanti Freed, one of two on-site Luminarium managers. "And then, once we're in place and it's going well, it only takes about 20 minutes to put it up and about 20 minutes to take it down. We just blow it up by day and drop it down at night."
The entire Luminarium setup is surprisingly low tech, requiring only a handful of electric fans to keep its form and relying only on the sun to achieve a myriad of wondrous visual effects. "It's purely natural light," explains Freed. "The colored sections allow sunlight to come through and then reflects off the silver so you get this wonderful mixture of color."
The light passing through the exhibit's red-and-blue windows, for example, combine to give off a deep purple glow in some areas, while other sections appear to radiate with a bright green light. A new-age soundtrack composed specially for the Luminarium is piped in, adding to the overall surrealistic ambience.
Designers have strived to make the display fully wheelchair accessible, she notes, and accidents, such as puncturing the PVC, are rare. Diligent attendants watch over visitors to assure their safety and comfort. Water is available when the temperature rises a few degrees inside.
"It's going to be cooler from now on if the forecast is right," says promoter Tim Bostock, who brought the exhibit to Honolulu nearly 10 years after viewing the first Luminarium sculpture in Europe.
Even with Kraft as a sponsor, Bostock says it isn't the soundest of financial ventures. "I'm hoping to break even," he says with a soft laugh. "It's more of a touring art exhibit than a commercial prospect. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw the first one. I really wanted people to see it.
"I think it's very joy-inducing," he says. "Most people, as they walk around, have something of a goofy grin."
It's something he enjoys seeing.
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