Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital slr-2014.

Chrysler Chandelier

Artist Luke Jerram (English, born 1974)

CultureEnglish

Date2014

MediumGlass radiometers, acrylic, stainless steel cable and LED circuits

Dimensions17 ft., 66 lb. (518.1 cm, 29.9 kg)

Credit LineMuseum commission with support from the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, in honor of Denise Gabrielle Jacot des Combes and Leslie Ellis, and Ethel Morrison Fielder and James Valone

Object number2014.4

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 227

DescriptionMeasuring 16 feet high (4.8 meters) by 20 inches (0.5 meters) at its widest point, the monumental, lozenge-shaped Chrysler Chandelier is composed of 330 radiometers arranged in 31 layers, with three cables tying those layers together. The entire structure of glass radiometers, acrylic cables, and LED circuits weighs approximately 60 pounds and is suspended from a central point just beneath the ocular skylight crowning the Museum’s Valone Staircase.
Since the chandelier will not be exposed to direct sunlight, small infrared LED circuit lights power the radiometers and make them spin.

Label TextLuke Jerram English, b. 1974 Chrysler Chandelier, 2014 Glass radiometers, acrylic, stainless steel cable, and LED circuits What does light look like? Luke Jerram’s kinetic sculpture makes light visible by converting photons into movement. As infrared light (from the sun and tiny LEDs) shines on the sculpture, it warms up the vanes inside each glass globe, or radiometer. The black sides of the paddles absorb more heat than the white sides, and the uneven heat distribution causes the vanes to spin. Because the process only occurs within a near-vacuum, radiometers containing more air will spin less. With 330 radiometers delicately wired to an acrylic framework, the sculpture shimmers, casting flickering shadows onto the nearby walls. It also emits a faint clinking—the sound of light. Museum commission with support from the Christiane and James Valone Charitable Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, in honor of Denise Gabrielle Jacot des Combes and Leslie Ellis, and Ethel Morrison Fielder and James Valone 2014.4ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist through Heller Gallery, New York, NY, by the Chrysler Museum of Art, November 2013, and installed by the artist March 28 - April 1, 2014.Exhibition HistoryChrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, May 10, 2014 - present