light magazine 3 english

only in paris page 2Champs Elysées

c’e’ una volta celeste page 8Milan

big page 12Manchester

a frenchman in korea page 16Séoul

an evening in ste maxime page 20Sainte Maxime

rotenturmstrasse page 24Vienna

electro luminescent interview page 26Menton

solar motifs page 29Maubeuge

esprit & decoration page 30Decoration

blachere retail page 34Mass Retail Sector

art & illumination page 42Art & Light

reinvent/explore page 44Creation

the jean-paul blachere foundation page 48Contemporary Art

light magazine 3april 2008published par blachere illumination s.a.s

head office and workshops:Blachere Illumination s.a.sZone Industrielle84400 Apt - Francetél.: +33 (0) 490 742 095fax.: +33 (0) 490 741 463

mail: [email protected]: www.blachere-illumination.com

© Blachere Illumination s.a.s

cover illustration:light magazine 3 - J.P. - O.P© blachere design apt

photographs:Jérémie Pitot - Véro Martin - Lionel MouletOdile Pascal - Giulio Boem

© fondation jean paul blachere

publication: blachere illuminationlayout: blachere design apt

printed by: imprimerie de l’hexagone aix

No unauthoried copying.This document may not be copied or re-produced by any means without the writtenauthorisation of blachere illumination s.a.s.All our designs and graphics are protectedby INPI and WIPO registration and interna-tional industrial property laws.

Respect the environment. Do not discard.

get inspired at www.blachere-illumination.com

only in paris“A challenge for the Champs-Elysées, a challenge for Blachère and, above

all, a technological challenge”

Jean-Paul Blachère

Blachère Illumination was behind the designand installation of the 2007 Champs-Elyséesilluminations. At the centre of the plans, acommon desire to control energy usebrought together all the partners in an inno-vative project; a new and exclusive conceptfor tree decorations developed specificallyfor the occasion by the Development andDesign unit of Blachère Illumination.

Elusia, a celestial motif echoing the soft lightof the stars, will cloak the most beautiful ave-nue in a covering of sparkling light: THE Pa-risian event of this winter of 2007. Currentenvironmental considerations must be consi-dered alongside the desire for innovativedesign. The Champs-Elysées needs a newtype of decoration; new in both aestheticand technological terms. Blachère Illumina-tion is offering a new and appropriate deco-ration without abandoning its popular andacclaimed traditional image and roots.

It is a taste of “the mysterious light which fallsfrom the stars”: a celestial theme has inspi-red and shaped this project, namely the lightof the stars; their permanence; their move-ment in the void. We chose innovative pro-ducts, specially designed and developed forthis project, and a colour scheme whichhighlighted the trees with elegance and style.

light magazine 2008 - page 3

“Tonight, the capital is alight… using low energy light bulbs forthe first time, we are reducing the power bill by 70%”

Jean-Noël Reinhardt, president of the Champs-Elysées Committee - Le Parisien

The Snowfall® is a string of lights: 10 transpa-rent polycarbonate tubes with an integratedsparkling LED circuit linked by a two-metre longconnector.

page 4

Thanks to our design and computer graphicsdepartments, the Champs-Elysées was decora-ted both virtually and physically. Real decorativetools, these simulations were a definite "plus" forthe project development.

Christine Allain-Launay: What is an LED?

Gilles Noujarede: LED is the abbreviation for“light-emitting diode”. To simplify, the LED is elec-tronic light. It is a semi-conductor and not a bulb.The light is therefore not produced by heating a fi-lament.When moving from one semi-conductor to ano-ther, the current creates light particles called pho-tons.

C.A.L: What is a photon?

Pierre Aubert: A photon is an elementary lightparticle.

C.A.L: Are there other colours of LED?

G.N: Yes, all variations are possible. We currentlyhave 10 colours in our standard range.

C.A.L: Is the LED more reliable than incandescentlights?

P.A: Yes, for it is a single-piece electronic compo-nent, whereas a filament bulb contains loose andtherefore more fragile parts.

C.A.L: When was this system discovered?

G.N: 1907 was the year light was produced by asemi-conductor for the first time.

C.A.L: Why are the red and green less expensivethan the blue and the white LEDs?

P.A: The use of red and green started in 1962.Today, these two colours are in the public domainand therefore inexpensive – you just have to lookat the widespread use of these colours in indica-tor lights for remote controls and calculators.Since 1992, we have been using white and blueLED covered by a Japanese patent.

C.A.L: What is a warm white LED?

G.N: It is a cool white LED covered in yellow fluo-rescent powder.

C.A.L: Do all white LEDs come from suppliers whohold the patent?

We asked our “in-house” engineers Pierre Aubert and Gilles Nouja-rede to give us some clear answers to the most common questionsabout LEDs.

P.A: Unfortunately not. Blachère’s position on thisissue has always been exemplary. We only buy theofficial Japanese Nichia.Buying unofficial LEDs is unfair on the consumerand prevents the technology from advancing. It isunethical and non-environmentally friendly.

C.A.L: What are the advantages of the BlachèreLED?

G.N: - Careful selection made in the factory inorder to ensure the same colour of white acrossthe board.- The intensity of light increased by the conicalform for which we registered the patent.- Its long useful life, also thanks to its excellentquality.- The quality of the colours – thanks to the officialLED and the good definition of the light tempera-ture (no grey LEDs).

C.A.L: In what way is the LED an ecological pro-duct?

P.A: Essentially in terms of its energy consump-tion, which is 10 times less than that of a filamentbulb for the same level of illumination. Its reliabilityover time means it wears well: it needs to be re-newed 10 times less frequently than filamentbulbs.

CAL: Why should you spend more and buy an of-ficial LED?

G.N: It’s a question of ethics. You cannot advo-cate sustainable development, research, a certainnotion of citizenship, by buying counterfeit pro-ducts. The dynamism of companies such as Bla-chère illumination should be encouraged; thesecompanies are making the LED evolve to meet en-vironmental needs and increase products’ energyefficiency.

The LEDThe secrets of an ecological revolution


“ ”

“ ”I think they are wonderful, really quite beautiful, and what’s

more, they’re ecological…It's superb…”

Vanessa Paradis

I was looking for a new project. In recent years, Parisians had been

telling me “the lights on the Champs-Elysées are beautiful, but you

could freshen things up a bit.” Firstly, the artists were extremely

good… it had to be beautiful in aesthetic and artistic terms, and at

the same time use less energy.”

Bertrand Delanoë

An eclectic soirée

for celebrities at the New Year celebrations.

A scintillating atmosphere in the Champs-Elysées where Vanessa Paradis

played the “electric fairy” for the avenue’s illuminations.


“ ”Everything had been revealed in advance: the million spots of light spread across

400 trees, the hundreds of crystal fairy lights hung up along the length of the 2400m

avenue... All that was missing was the name of the celebrity chosen to press the but-

ton. It was, in the end, Vanessa Paradis who literally sparked off the illuminations on

the Champs-Elysées last night. At 6pm sharp, the singer and actress, accompanied

by Bertrand Delonoё, unleashed a flood of light on the most beautiful avenue in the

world, which this year features wholly ecological decorations. These low-energy il-

luminations – they consume seven times less electricity than the bulbs used to date

– will remain lit until mid-January, a fortnight longer than usual.

(LP/Alain Auboiroux for Le journal de Paris)

c’e’ una volta

celestepage 8

“Beneath a sky of blue stars and classical music, the Galleria Vit-torio Emmanuele is transformed into a veritable salon.”

Maurizio Cadeo (Assessore all' Arredo urbano)Il Giornale - Milan


Crédit photo © Giulio Boem

“ ”“The starry sky inside the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele is a

feast for sore eyes. The blue luminescent LEDs whichcover its dome lend it elegance and grace.”

La Republica - Milan

page 10

light magazine 2008 - page 11Photograph © Giulio Boem


Big“These are the first pictures of this new

Father Christmas, sparkling from his 100

000 LEDs. 89 parts were assembled to

create this 10 metre high giant. It’s exci-

ting, and great fun. This monument of

light will be the pièce de résistance of the

Christmas celebrations.”Pat Karney

Town's hall city centre spokesman - Manchester

Project.The city already had a large inflatable FatherChristmas and wanted to breathe fresh lifeinto the decoration idea with an originalconcept. The extreme lateness of the invita-tion to tender meant that we were unable torespond in 2006, but it was promised thatthe installation would be complete for 2007.Paul Goddard, in charge of business in thenorth of England, provided information onthe region’s popular imagery surroundingSanta Claus.Our designers took inspiration from this anddreamt up a Father Christmas in the form ofa child’s toy… a 10 metre high “Mr WobblyMan”. The sketches wowed the decision-makers, we won the tender and moved tothe project study phase.

Design.The process was complex and carried out intwo stages. The first stage consisted of thestructural design and the dimensional study.The Father Christmas was to be installed 10metres up in the outer archway of thechurch. The structure was thus lightenedover the course of the study phase; mecha-nical resistance and storm resistance wereapproached differently as the geographicalsite of the installation played an extremelyimportant role. During this period, our dé-partement cablâge [wiring department] un-dertook the electrics survey.The second stage was technical approval byan external supervisory office. This indepen-dent body studied the structural elements toensure they adhered to the rules of designfor aluminium alloys and European stan-dards. It drew up a statement, a calculationnote certifying the mechanical strength andthe stability of the three-dimensional struc-ture. This document was then submitted toour customer.

Manufacture.The enormous three-dimensional decorationis erected in our workshop in Apt. 700 hoursof ironworking for the internal aluminiumstructure, 800 hours for the covering, alsoaluminium, and 500 hours’ work on wiringare needed. The Father Christmas is to beassembled and disassembled at each stageof its design, for the assembly of the struc-ture, during manufacture of the cover andlastly for the final test once the synthetic fa-bric and strings of lights have been put inplace.

Installation.Four full lorries take it to Manchester, whereour local team and the installation supportteam from Blachère illumination Franceawait.

The body of the Father Christmas is assem-bled on the ground, a crane lifts him up in hisentirety and places him 10 metres up on theplatform. The entire structure is then toppedof with the head. Three days’ installation timeis needed; the challenge has been success-fully met.

a fr

enchm

an

in k

ore

aIn 2007, Blachère illumina-tion’s savoir faire reachesthe Antipodes: the “Land ofthe Morning Calm”, Korea,becomes the latest provideDMX animation solutions toshine out their full potential.

page 16

4 DMX controllers bring together the ani-mation system (48 lines per box), the realbrains of the façade decoration.

Each of the 192 animation connectionsfeeds 4 strings of Blachère Sparklight®lights. This means 768 strings i.e. 153 600lights, bringing light and life to the Shinse-gae shopping centre in the very heart ofSeoul.

Each ray of pure white LED light, a branchof one of the 192 lines of the animationsystem, can be controlled separately. Thevarious possible lighting combinations offercreative freedom and a fluidity of move-ment.


In France, the DMX animateurs workedtheir magic on the façade of the St Cypriantown hall. The Blachère products used bythe lighting designer Jérôme Roy in a bril-liant modern set sparkled in harmony, crea-ting a show to remember.

an evening insainte maxime

“ ”Ste Maxime owes its “lovely 20m Christmas tree…” to Blachère, leader in the world of lighting, whichproduced this unique and exclusive model especially for the town...We thought that original, high qualityillumination would add to the municipality's attractiveness in terms of business and tourism: just thinkhow many families will choose a day trip to Ste Maxime once they know a magnificent show of lightsawaits them there. Cost is, of course, an important factor, but when you look at the work, the quality ofthe structure and its visual impact, everything is relative.

Damien Spuri-RagniHead of Lighting and Events at the SMACT (Sainte Maxime lighting, business and tourism)Source : Var Matin

page 20

Light or planet, no need to choose. “A place for dreams but dreams in their place” said Desnos, to whom Aragon dedicated one of his poems. The topicback then may not have been the brilliant sparkle of the Christmas decorations – the stuff dreams are made of, and not only for children – but it still holdstrue: you must recognise the place of dreams in your life.Pierre Bastien - La marseillaise

page 22

rotenturmstrasseethereal decoration

“ ”light magazine 2008 - page 11light magazine 2008 - page 25

“Magnificent Christmas baubles with over 20 000spots of light decorate the Rotenturmstrasse. Dra-wing inspiration from name of the street, the lightingdesigner came up with an exclusive project reminis-cent of our large red and gold banners.”

Österreich - Vienne

electroluminescentinterview

Christine Allain-Launay: The Menton pro-ject is an ambitious one, as it involves modi-fying the existing structures. What gave youthe idea of transforming street lights intoChristmas trees?

Christophe Ghiena: The “Christmas lights”in Menton have been the focus of much at-tention for nearly ten years. As local coun-cillors, we wanted to turn this time into amagic moment for the people of Menton,and an additional tourist attraction, by instal-ling original and beautiful decorations in al-most every street in town. When we wererenewing the decorations in 2005, I wasgiven the task of coming up with a newconcept to display the pièce de résistanceof our lighting in all its glory, an illuminatedplatform of over 14000m² above the 2.2 ki-lometre long seaside promenade. I had theidea of creating a magic forest, using the 63street lights as brackets for both supportingand providing energy for the trees.

C.A.L.: Is this idea of getting rid of overheadwires going to spread to other fields of ligh-ting?

C.G.: Yes, each time we reassess a publicspace, we integrate, quite systematically,

light sockets into the street lights. This allowsus to supply power to the motifs very easilyand dispense with the entirety of the un-sightly power cables. We are using this op-portunity to create a separate supplynetwork from that for pubic lighting so thatwe can control and separate the light-uptimes in the interests of economy.

C.A.L.: You were one of the first local deci-sion-makers to consider using LEDs. Why?

C.G.: There were three main reasons. Thefirst was their unique light – a superb pureblue-white. The second concerned the issueof maintenance and strength of the productand the third, its low energy consumption.

C.A.L.: Did you immediately consider the“eco” aspect of the LED?

C.G.: To be honest, not right away. Our ini-tial reasons for choosing the product wereaesthetics, originality and the control ofenergy consumption costs.We really recognised the “eco” aspect of theLED when the concerns of those involved inenergy consumption matters were heighte-ned by the widespread media coverage ofthe “grenelle de l’environnement” (French na-

tional government environmental initia-tive/working group). That is when, on thebasis of the choices we had made, we wereable to give details of the type of materialused in the municipality and demonstrate toour fellow citizens that we were following theenergy consumption control guidelines of the“grenelle” to the letter.

C.A.L.: Would you agree that the robust-ness of products is often a key argument?

C.G.: When you have nearly 500 motifs anddecorations installed in the municipality, youare constantly worrying about breakdown orburnt out bulbs that need to be fixed or re-placed on a daily basis; this requires the de-ployment of a great deal of human andmaterial resources. The long useful life androbustness of the LED clearly guarantee thatthe decorations will last, and thus conside-rably reduce the amount of maintenance re-quired.

C.A.L.: At the end of the day, is the extracost of the LED, around 0.51 centimes perinhabitant at sale price, really acceptable?

C.G.: Each municipality takes its own ap-proach depending on its size, its financial

In partnership with Blachère illumination, the town of Menton was one of the pio-neers in the decorative use of LEDs. For us, the prospect of working with the townon the technical aspect of this revolution in festive decorations was a most intri-guing one. It’s now time to hand over to Christophe Ghiena, head of the municipaltechnical centre, a forward-looking customer who wishes to pursue this newChristmas lighting concept.


illuminations will be lit?

C.G.: No; however, following the concernsraised by the “grenelle de l’environnemnt” wewere able to announce that we were largelyusing LED designs for our lights. This meantthat we were allowed to maintain our light-up period, unlike other municipalities whichhad not taken this step and had no alterna-tive but to postpone switching on their lightsin order to save on energy.

C.A.L.: LED technology opens the door tothe use of renewable energy for lighting –wind power, solar… Are you ready to take afurther, decisive step in this direction?

C.G.: Yes, the next stage is to select a pilotsite to set up projects which would allow usto power the decorations using photovoltaiccells. We have the good fortune to be in amunicipality where the sun shines for 300days each year, which costs us a great dealin some areas. It is time we get some ad-vantage from it, by using the sun to lower ourelectricity bill and reducing our energyconsumption.

means and public will on the subject ofChristmas lights, something which can vary.You have to weigh up the extra cost, the sa-vings in energy and maintenance which thismaterial brings to avoid basing such an ana-lysis on purely financial factors. As regardsenvironmental concerns, I believe that a mu-nicipality should be wholly committed to re-ducing energy consumption. The LED offersa good way of meeting this objective and wi-thout putting excessive strain on local fi-nances.

C.A.L.: You have chosen to buy the officialLED. Did you feel that was important?

C.G.: The choice of the “LED” was, as Imentioned already, based on its light and onthe product’s robustness. The guarantee ofhaving a product which meets these twoquality criteria does, unarguably, mean thepurchase of the official LED. The manufac-ture of this type of material is carried out al-most exclusively in Asia, where forgery formsa parallel economy - unfortunately to the de-triment of the quality of the product suppliedand to customer expectations.

C.A.L.: Have you extended the period your

“The long useful life and robustness of the

LED clearly guarantee the decorations

will last and thus considerably reduce the

amount of maintenance required.”

D.C: We have tested the first solar motifs. This fitsperfectly with the municipality’s environmental ap-proach, the aim being maximum reduction of ourenergy consumption without sacrificing the qua-lity of light.

C.A.L: Do you consider the Blachère illuminationsolar range to be reasonably broad?

D.C: At the moment, the range is relatively limited.We are waiting to see the next generation.

C.A.L: What was your initial reaction to the pro-duct?

D.C: The light is fine. Bi-energy meant that wehave been able to ensure continuous supply.

C.A.L: What immediate improvements should bemade to the products that you have tested?

D.C: The energy storage capacity should be im-proved, a metre should be installed so that we cancalculate exactly what percentage of solar energyis being used and how much is coming from thegrid; the range of products should be extended –it is currently too limited.

C.A.L: It is becoming possible to light up newareas with the network. What do you think of thisnew opportunity?

D.C: It is indeed a plus, although there are fewareas in our municipality which are not connected.

C.A.L: Did you know that we can extend the solarpanels for the decorations by around ten metresand that they can thus be installed on roofs?

D.C: Improvements in the dimensions of solar pa-nels will allow them to be better integrated into thelandscape.

C.A.L: Have you benefited from this “eco” imageas a boost to public relations?

D.C: Several newspaper articles have been publi-shed on such energy savings and these have sup-ported and reinforced our choices. The quality of light of this new technology has alsobeen a major factor in the success of the cam-paign.Our success in improving the quality of light whilstachieving considerable reductions in the energybill ended up by convincing the public that this po-licy is a sensible one.


Christine Allain-Launay: Today, when a municipa-lity raises the subject of Christmas lights, is the eco-logical aspect part of negotiations?

Didier Colinet: It is one the priorities. Over thecourse of the past 5 years, we have progressivelyopted for LED technology, a method whichconsumes far less energy and is significantly brigh-ter. This has allowed us to cut our electricity bill to a20th of what it was.

C.A.L: How did you argue the case for this idea inyour town?

D.C: Before the LED, our motifs used filament lightsand required significant amounts of electrical power.Moreover, the light-up period (1 month) required re-gular maintenance to replace burnt-out bulbs. Wealways installed clocks at each branch in order toreduce the time they were lit (6hours/day). Now, eve-rything is on for the same time as the public lighting(15 hours/day) and still consumes less energy.We realised that vandalism had significantly decrea-sed, for damaging live strings of lights is a rathermore delicate operation. Now, maintenance purelyinvolves hanging up the lights again on windy days.

C.A.L: The company has now suggested that youtry out solar decorations. Isn’t the idea of harnes-sing renewable energy for town lighting simply afantastic dream?

Solar motifsThe town of Maubeuge has already chosen to light its streets using LED technology for the New Year ce-lebrations. The main purpose of the technical innovation was to save energy.This year, a solar illuminated display has been installed and renewable energy has thus made its début ap-pearance on the festive illumination scene. We spoke to Didier Colinet, chief municipal engineer, about thenew installations.

esprit & décorationDecorative lighting for shopping centres is always a creative challenge.Shopkeepers and passers-by like ethereal decors… and Blachèreillumination creates magical Christmases just for them.


tremely tight security restrictions. Whatmain areas do you consider?

B.D: Each person involved in ERP mustface up to these restrictions. They areclearly set out; sometimes they limit creati-vity but they must nevertheless be adheredto: the consequences of not doing so canbe grave in the extreme.

C.B: Does the advent of the LED constitutea lighting revolution?

B.D: Absolutely. The fact that it is 3 timesmore brilliant allows us to overcome lightrestrictions for permanent gallery lightingand to increase yet further the magical as-pect of our decors. It is also a real revolu-tion as regards maintenance, for weexperience very few breakdowns.

C.B: In this context, what is the role of eco-logy?

B.D: As far as ecology is concerned, wehave a duty to offer our customers pro-ducts which consume 3 to 4 times lessenergy than incandescent lighting.

Bruno Dolis, interior designer of manyyears’ standing, answers our questions.

C. Blachère: : Each centre has its ownidentity. Is it important to absorb this beforestarting each project?

Bruno Dolis: Immersing yourself in theidentity of the centre, its architecture andits values in terms of communications andcustomer base: these are the most impor-tant aspects in the creation of our décor.The budget announced after the studystage also plays a significant role; we des-ign in accordance with all these parame-ters.

C.B: At Christmas, customers want to besurprised. How is the theme chosen? Doyou discuss it in the very first meeting?

B.D: The theme is very often the result ofcentre identity + architecture + values pro-moted. We suggest the theme to the cen-tre. It is the thread which runs through ourproject and brings it together.

C.B: The concourses, arcades and galle-ries are often already lit, so what is the roleof the illuminations?

B.D: It is true that the concourses, galleriesand arcades are often extremely well lit.Nevertheless, you cannot do without thelight which is the basic element of Christ-mas decorations. Indeed, it is extremely im-portant to introduce elements of decorationto fill up these spaces; the light adds thatmagical touch.

C.B: Should Interior and Exterior be in de-corative harmony?

B.D: The interior and the exterior must bein complete harmony; the customer mustbe immersed in the theme as soon as heapproaches the outside of the centre.

C.B: What are the trends for the comingwinter in terms of colours, materials andshapes?

B.D: The trend is towards coloured décorand lighting in the line with the increasinglyprominent role colours are taking in thecentres; there is also a move in the direc-tion of natural and ecological themes whichare very much in evidence in new businessand commercial architecture.

C.B: Designing the décor for a centre alsomeans working in an environment with ex-

page 32

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blachereretail

Sophistication and sensitivity are the inspiration behind the “joyaux” range: strings oflights are transformed, decorating the house with pearls and diamonds. Origami and plexiglass cutting techniques create a more “designer“ form, sending outpure crystal cold light for the most modern of interiors.Children will also enjoy letting their imaginations run riot with the range of new motifs tolight up their universe – and already, Christmas has entered everyone’s heart. Just waitand see – you too will be won over.

“The in house designers’ creations are inspired by current trends with a sophisticatedchic range, another completely “eco-nature” range and an infinite variety of whites, andfinally a range all in amber and purple.”Carina Istre for La Provence

A new year of creation and surprises in our retailrange… Our designers are revelling in the trends – andintroducing their own inimitable twist.

Stalactite Pendant Garland.

Pearl Chandelier Garland.

Classical Frosted Stalactite Pendant Garland.

Frosted Pearl Flower Bunches.jew

el

page 36

1. Clear Crystal Snowflake LEDGarland.

2. LED Jewel Chandelier.

3. Flicker Jewel Aquamarine.

4. Cone Garland with ClearPearls.

5. Black Crystal Snowflake LEDGarland.

jewel

1 2

3

5

4


Dog and Kennel Garland.

Clown Kids’ Garland.

Paper Ball Micro-bulb Garland.

Animal Garland.

Guirlande déco papier - coccinelles.

Paper Decoration Garland - Flowers.

Paper Decoration Garland - Butterflies

paper

page 40

Coloured Plastic Flower Garland. Blue Petal Garland.

Purple Petal Garland.

Coloured Plastic Square Garland.

Red Petal Garland.

paperlight magazine 2008 - page 41

"Aimé M’Pané won the Foundation’s prize at theDak’art Bienniale 2006.The visual artist, born in Kinshasa (Congo) andtrained in Brussels, is one of the most talentedplayers on the current contemporary art scene.His project “Ota Benga” speaks out for the pyg-mies expelled from their land, unlike the gorillasprotected by a public awareness campaign.The exhibition of light shows the gorillas, a tradi-tional hut, and a video, for this work is part of thenew programme “art and enterprise” aimed atcreating new links between art and the science oflight.”

Pierre JaccaudArtistic DirectorFondation Jean-Paul Blachère

art &illumination

It invites artists and designers to explore the material light, taking an innovative ap-proach to both its design and the finished product.The project can be part of the urban landscape; the artistic challenge and focus is asmuch on the partial use of techniques and materials known to the company as on pos-sible future approaches.The company always expects exceptional and exclusive creations.

Place:Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère - ZI les bourguignons - 84400 Apt - France

Disciplines:Video, photo, sculpture, painting-installation, design, architecture, urbanism…

For further information:christine@blachère-illumination.com or [email protected]

Boosted by the experience of its Foundation, the companyhas developed its own artists’ residence programmes.


From the three-dimensional virtualChristmas tree for the project “The sy-nonyms for the verb undo” to real treesto add light and life to your urbanspaces… Tomorrow is taking shapetoday…

page 44

reinvent/explore#1/ tree/3d/contemporary

Continuing to offer magical subjects, daring to be grand yet unpretentious, playing onthe monumental for unique locations… this is what we work to “reinvent” and “explore”each and every day. We are fascinated by forms, materials, effects and above all thefunctionality of each of the lamps and lights we design. The first black and brilliant whitedesigns decked in thousands of tiny pieces of gems have already left our productionsites. You can see them tomorrow when we take part in the most important trade fairsand exhibitions.The more stylised range which we have presented here is a forerunner for the 2009 col-lection.


These trees symbolise the renaissanceof the spirit of the 50s. A joyful designand a sense of lightness have inspiredthis range of 6 products…Coming soon.

Design for all….by opening our doors toartists, designers and video artists, wehope to offer our customers projectswhich are subtle, surprising and moving.

reinvent/explore#2/tree/3d/contemporary

page 46

Set up in 2004, this foundation for the pro-motion of contemporary African art is one ofthe few of its kind in France. The idea behindit came from the CEO of the Jean-Paul Bla-chère company, who was great art-lover. Hehad fallen in love with Africa and wanted toshare his passion through this humanist pro-ject. The foundation is thus the expressionand crystallisation of a stage in his life and thatof his company, offering him a purpose inwork and his work a place in history, whilst atthe same time giving it a “citizenship” dimen-sion which transcends all these boundaries.The Jean-Paul Blachère Foundation has anart centre with exhibition space, a studioworkshop for the artists in residence, a docu-mentation centre, a gallery and a shop.

Since its establishment, the foundation hasconcentrated its efforts on promoting artistsfrom Africa by helping them access the artmarkets in western countries. This aim is setout in the company’s constitutional charter,drawn up at the end of 2003:“The purpose is neither to donate nor to pro-vide help in design and production, but to pro-mote fair access to all markets for Africanworks of art.”

7th February – 31st May Photographic exhibition “voiles et dévoilements”by Angèle Etoundi Essamba

26th mars – 25th avril Artist residential programme art & enterprise(Aimé Mpane – DRC)

12th avril Release and signature of Angéle Etoundi Essamba’s catalogue

9th mai – 15th mai Jean-Paul Blachère Foundation Prize – Dakar BiennaleCritical review at the Gorée Institute

29th mai – 15th juin Artist residential programme Gabriel Kemzo Malou(pupil of Moustapha Dimé, Senegal)

10th juin – 12th octobre Monographic Exhibition, Moustapha Dimé(Senegalese sculptor, 1952 – 1998)

16th juin – 11th juillet Second artist residential programme art & enterprise

23rd octobre – 30th octobre Artist residential programme for photographic and video artists28th octobre Bamako Exhibition private viewing28th octobre – 18th janvier 09 Bamako Exhibition (photographs et videos)

Artists invited : Adama Bamba (Mali), Sammy Baloji (DRC)Jodi Bieber (South Africa)Ghislain El Magambo Gulda (DRC)Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi (Zimbabwe) Amal Kenawy (Egypt) and the group of studentsof the ESN (Paris) and CAMM (Bamako).

6th & 7th décembre Open-doors week-end - Boutik

the jean-paul blacherefoundation

light magazine 3 english

Documents

milanbig page

korea page

paris page

decorationblachere retail

maubeugeesprit decoration

mentonsolar motifs page

art lightreinventexplore

ste maxime page