Oskar von Miller was a hydropower pioneer, Jean Perzel a successful lamp designer.
The Fürstenfeldbruck Museum is now dedicating part of its new exhibition “Erleutet!
Fascination with electric light. "
Fürstenfeldbruck
- light - that is more than brightness, more than lighting. In the course of its history, electric light was a status symbol and an instrument of power, an economic engine and a work of art. It helped people to break away from the naturally given rhythm of day and night, enabled more public on the one hand and more privacy on the other. It brought more safety, but is now also an environmental hazard. The Fürstenfeldbruck Museum is dedicating its current exhibition “Enlightened! Fascination with electric light ”.
Located in the rooms of the Kunsthaus, the show is divided into two parts. The history of electric light is opened on the ground floor. The basement belongs to the Landshut photographer Karl Heinz Rothenberger and his black-and-white photos on the subject of “Beautiful Electricity”. In order to establish the local reference, he also photographed the power station in Schöngeising for the exhibition, which was built by Oskar von Miller, son of the ore caster Ferdinand von Miller from Bruck. Bruck owes it to the power station that, as a small market town, in 1892 it was one of the first places in the Empire where the lights went on. The following year the Miller's Cross shone for the first time at the Leonhardikirche. In the exhibition you can see it up close - an oversized wooden cross with originally 120 red and white lightbulbs,which used to adorn the Leonhardi Church at Easter. The pears are missing today, for reasons of fire protection the cross has not been switched on for several years. At the time it was a sensational technical work of art, a kind of sacred neon sign and, for Miller, probably also a way of converting opponents of electricity - there were a few of them.
Light bulb manufacturers such as Osram and AEG did the same with large advertising posters on which they advertised the cheaper alternative to petroleum. The museum found three old light bulbs for the exhibition. The oldest is from the year 1882 and was brought in from Freising as a loan "like a raw egg", reports museum employee Verena Beaucamp.
Paintings of big cities at night make it clear how nightlife developed on the illuminated boulevards. The human was no longer handcuffed to the house by the darkness. On the other hand, the residents of a house could withdraw better than each room had an electric light source. Factory halls could suddenly also be used at night, shift work was born. The light promised safety on the streets, but also gave the police more control over the citizens. It was no coincidence that street lamps were attacked during demonstrations or rebellions against state power.
The exhibition not only casts a spotlight on the electricity pioneer Oskar von Miller, but also on the lamp designer Jean Perzel, who was born in Bruck in 1892 and who achieved world fame in Paris.
He was interested in the development of lamps that emit “intelligent light” - widely spreading, not dazzling.
The American Loie Fuller combined art and science.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the choreographer and dancer celebrated triumphs with her stage show, for which she employed a whole army of technicians.
Wrapped in long robes prepared with fluorescent salts, she let herself be illuminated by intense light.
Her body seemed to dissolve into shape and color as she danced.
At the end of the tour, there is the downside of the technical achievement.
Two nocturnal satellite images, taken 20 years apart, show an increasingly brighter world, an ever greater degree of light pollution - and give rise to the desire for a little more darkness.
The exhibition
"Enlightened!
Fascination Electric Light ”about the beginnings of electric lighting can be seen in the Fürstenfeldbruck Museum until September 26th.
This Saturday, July 3rd, there will be a guided tour at 4.30 p.m.
Participation costs 5 euros in addition to the museum admission.