Thomas Wilfred’s Clavilux

Edited by Michael Betancourt

Paperback – 140 pages
Publication Date – 2006

Price $25.00

Wilfred, an artist who experimented with a form of visual music he called “Lumia” developed an entire aesthetic system that could either be performed live, or set-up as an automatic display. His instrument, the Clavilux, was subject of several patents, collected along with images from Opus 161. Together these essays, the patents, and selected images provide a clear description of Lumia, what Wilfred described as “the eighth art.” Of particular interest in this collection are Wilfred’s comments and observations about the difference between his lumia and film.

Included in this volume:
“Light and the Artist”
Correspondence with Edwin M. Blake
“Composing in the Art of Lumia”
7 patents on the Clavilux and related devices
17 images from Opus 161, courtesy of Eugene Epstein