Photo by Mikkel Heriba
As CEO and founder of Wästberg, Magnus Wästberg looked at our relationship with fire, and how light was originally related to proximity and environment. He noticed that for the last 50 years or so electric energy has been viewed as a never-ending resource, resulting in spaces often becoming over-illuminated. Now 10 years old, Wästberg is considered one of the world’s most exciting contemporary lighting brands, all while looking to return light to human proximity. Doing away with soulless, generic LED designs in favor of tactile designs with a feel of natural light with sublime shadows and contrasts, Wästberg’s goal is to honor technology, aesthetics, and human needs all at once. Today Magnus is joining us for Friday Five to share a few things that he loves.
Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
1. The Milky Way
This image of the Milky Way always puts (artificial) lighting into perspective for me.
Photo by Josef Maria Eder
2. Snake X-ray
People sometimes joke about other people’s reptile brains – they react without thinking. As human beings we are still controlled by instincts that are 1 million years old.
Photo by August Strindberg
3. August Strindberg
This is a self-portrait by August Strindberg, Sweden’s most prominent writer during the second half of the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century he said, “Electrical light will make man work himself to death.”
Photo via Shutterstock
4. Pantheon
The Pantheon always makes me think about the fact that it was built before the era of misguided standardization and regulation that we are living in today.
Photo by Johan Kalen
5. My Daughters
This is an image of my two daughters, Edith and Stina, taken some years ago when they were helping out as “models” during a photoshoot. It reminds me of my own childhood, helping out in my father’s company, and the meaningfulness of working in a family business.
