‘I cant give you anything but love.’
– Shigeru Uchida, in his response to PuppyLove
During the past 35 years, Luminaire has proven to be leader in design, emphasizing that design is not simply a product, but a philosophy and an experience that changes how one views the world and moves through it.
Luminaire has also invited designers and architects to collaborate in philanthropic exhibitions to both educate people about good, contemporary design while serving the community at large. The ‘Love’ series is just one of these efforts.
The ‘Love’ Series began in 2006 with the exhibition and auction PuppyLove. The ‘Love’ series was prompted by Nargis Kassamali’s 12 year struggle with 5 different incidents of cancer. “I consider myself extremely lucky to have a reset button,” says Nargis. “I have the chance to change and do something about living instead of just existing. I am grateful for that. Not everyone gets that chance.”
Allowing others the chance to survive cancer is therefore a mission that lies close to the Kassamalis’ hearts. By partnering with designers, architects and artists to utilize innovative design in the quest for finding a cure for cancer, Nasir and Nargis began the ‘Love’ series during Art Basel Miami Beach 2006. White, plastic 3D puppies designed by Eero Aarnio were transformed into innovative design objects and then exhibited for public viewing before being auctioned for cancer research.
For instance, the Bouroullec Brothers modified their puppy by playfully placing a ‘lighting bone’ in its mouth, while the Campana brothers dressed theirs in woven natural fiber as a playful deviation of their Trans-plastic series.
And just to show how creative some of the participants could be, Konstantin Grcic gave his puppy life and made it dance in ‘Nose-Jive-Three-Sixty,’ and Herzog and de Meuron created a happy, yellow home that complemented the puppy’s ambiguity between figurativeness and abstraction.
Additional participants included Gunter Wermekes, Marcel Wanders, Piet Stockmans, Shigeru Uchida, and Ron Arad. To see the full list of creations auctioned to raise funds for cancer research, check out the PuppyLove site here:
Luminaire is extraordinarily grateful for all of the people who participated in Puppylove and to those who helped raise over $450,000 for fight against cancer.
Wednesday, December 6 - Sunday, December 10, 2006
