Pirouette: Turning Points in Design

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Zettel'z Hanging Lamp

Ingo Maurer. Zettel'z Hanging Lamp. 1997 365

Ingo Maurer GmbH, Germany. Stainless steel, glass, and paper, 47 x 47 1/4" (119.4 x 120 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designer. © 2025 Ingo Maurer

Artist, Kim Hastreiter:  Some of his lights would be very humorous. He loved humble materials. He loved paper.

My name is Kim Hastreiter and I’m an artist and a cultural anthropologist. Ingo Maurer was a dear friend for probably 40 years. He was also an artist, and his medium was light.

What you’re looking at is Zettel’z Hanging Lamp.

It comes without the paper attached. You draw on these pieces of paper and then you just clip them on. It’s really up to you to put what you want on it.

I met Ingo on this crazy day. We all lived in this loft on Lispenard Street, which is in Tribeca. One day, I heard a banging at my front door. I opened the door and it was this totally gorgeous kind of movie star-looking guy, who just came in and started spinning in circles and saying, “My name is Ingo. I’m from Germany and I love New York and I’m your neighbor. I just wanted to meet you.” Our lofts looked at this amazing skyline and he kept saying, “The light is so beautiful.”

He had an elegant touch with his lights. They were really pieces of art. And he saw light everywhere. He saw light in someone’s eyes. He loved reflection. He loved sparkle. He loved the experience of going from day to night or night to day. Light was magic to him. You couldn’t touch it or feel it or put in your pocket. That’s why I always say he never made lamps. That wasn’t what he wanted to do. He wanted to make light.