Joseph, Felt Lamp by Ludovic Roth

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Ludovic Roth goes a step further by constructing his collection of lamps as an explicit argument in defense of artist Joseph Beuys, the namesake of Roth’s work. Beuys is famous for his material explorations, especially the use of felt – one might recall the felt-covered piano, or perhaps the iconic felt suit hanging against a museum’s wall. The visual grayness has been criticized as “ugly art” despite Beuy’s claim of the monochrome as the instigator of an internal and colorful anti-image. Roth’s lamps, manufactured in France by Dix heures Dix, present an introduction of this developing anti-image with some pieces in uniform anthracite gray, while others a patchwork of cool and warm grays, even an off-white. The seams between panels on the lamps also become a physical manifestation of the depth that can be evoked through the seemingly flatness of felt.