Hospitality Design - May/June 2009 - 69

mike brannon designer profile By Jana Schiowitz Photo by Marcus Revilla fine tuned Mike Brannon’s lighting designs follow the same composition as his music—a mix of rhythm, form, color, structure, texture, and dynamics. “I learn as much about myself from doing this and music as I do about the process of what’s at hand…it’s really fascinating; almost a spiritual process, in a way, as well as that constant state of learning,” says the musician-turned-lighting designer. A musician f irst, Brannon studied guitar performance and composition at Boston’s Berklee College of Music while teaching guitar. He made a name for himself early on and his career soared—he played gigs at the famous CBGB club in New York City; became part of (and still is) the Synergy Quartet, a contemporary jazz and rock collective group, as composer and guitarist; and had his music air on 215 stations worldwide. But with a longtime interest in lighting design (as well as indigenous and organic materials and machinery), Brannon decided to start his own company, Lightlink Lighting in San Antonio, Texas after collecting leftover scraps—aluminum plates, threaded rods, and hardwoods—from a home renovation. “I started the company to repurpose materials from various material streams into modern, minimalist, quality, sustainable, green-design lighting for those with a contemporary—mid-century to futuristic—aesthetic,” he explains. With these materials and some Thai papers and touch dimmers, his first collection was born—industrial versions of Japanese lanterns. “It was the catalyst, or the final straw, which spoke to my inner recycler,” he says. He now offers all types of lighting, from suspension to sconces to drop lights to create a balance between ambiance, function, and effect. “I’d hope they’d cause someone to want to approach them and see what makes them tick, how they affect the space in a pleasing way, and possibly, evoke images, memories, thoughts, ideas of their own,” he says. “Art lighting should do that: inspire, challenge, and intrigue and maybe bring a smile to those who get it.” Always fascinated with materials that split, reflect, and filter light, Brannon likes to work with bamboo, recycled aluminum, reclaimed hardwoods, perforated metals, and dichroic film. He has unleashed some new pieces that speak organic, soulful, Zen, and industrial. His new Bamboo Column Series is made with bamboo veneer over acrylic tubes set on dark bronze-finished metal bases and the Azure/Reactor Suspension Series Photo by Dan Warner Clockwise from top left: Antelope Canyon and the Aurora Borealis are sources of inspiration for lighting designer Mike Brannon; the Bamboo Column Series; the Dichroic Twig Column Series made of reclaimable bamboo or dark stained Japanese twig mats with an inner layer of dichroic film; and one of Synergy’s album covers. May/June 2009 www.hdmag.com 69
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - May/June 2009
