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"Mayday" Lamp

A portable lamp with a white funnel-shaped shade and black hook with an attachment for the cord to wrap around.

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  • A portable lamp with a white funnel-shaped shade and black hook with an attachment for the cord to wrap around.

Date:

1998

Artist:

Konstantin Grcic
German, born 1965

Manufactured by Flos SpA
Italian, founded 1962

About this artwork

Konstantin Grcic’s Mayday Lamp exemplifies the industrial designer’s aspirations to rethink conventional products for the home. This portable lamp is probably his best-known work to date and was realized with the Italian design company Flos. A practical rendition of an industrial lamp made for domestic use, Mayday Lamp was born out of Grcic’s dissatisfaction with contemporary lighting solutions. His love of Formula 1 racing, specifically the no-frills lamps employed by auto mechanics, served as a source of inspiration. Portable, funnel-shaped, and equipped with a hook that enables them to be secured under the hood of a car, these safety lamps provided the basis for Mayday. The large hook crowning the top of the lamp is functional, but it also acts as a decorative element in the uncluttered design.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Konstantin Grcic (Designer)

Title

"Mayday" Lamp

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Designed 1998

Medium

Polypropylene

Dimensions

53 × 21.5 cm (20 7/8 × 8 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Architecture & Design Society

Reference Number

2007.58

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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