Homes & Interiors
by Nancy Tujague
The gritty garage of the Arcborn studio is filled with hunks of metal and planks of wood. Part of a mint-green Vespa hangs on the wall, above disused factory windows and remnants of telegraph lines. In this graveyard of industrial detritus, these objects await transformation. Windows will become doors, telegraph lines will become sculpture, computer parts will become lamps.
This rustic refuge is the workshop of designer John Von Colln, a former student at the Art Institute of Chicago who is now creating a graceful line of lamps, sconces and other fixtures from rejected electronic equipment.
His primary material is surplus or defective circuit boards, which he fashions into geometric lamp shades. When lit from within, the lamps glow amber, accented by the copper detailing of the circuitry.
photo: Eric England
As a student in Chicago, Von Colln was inspired by the city’s architectural elements and regularly roamed the old industrial neighborhoods on the South Side, collecting bits and pieces from buildings scheduled for demolition. He often brought home scraps from his jaunts, using them to construct sculptures and pieces of art that eventually led to the work he does today.
Von Colln’s designs are simple, evocative of both Asian and Art Deco designs, with sleek lines of steel and basic geometric shapes. The combination of elements—rigid steel juxtaposed against delicate circuit boards—yields a surprisingly graceful form.
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photo: Eric England
Von Colln’s Arcborn collection includes a table lamp entitled “FLW,” named for architect Frank Lloyd Wright, from whom Von Colln takes much inspiration. The “FLW” has a dark, oval base of steel contrasting against a luminous cube of circuit boards. The “Labelle,” with its sharp, angular lines, challenges conventional lampshade design while transforming a mundane object into avant-garde art. Perhaps the most remarkable piece of the collection is a large square contraption that, when placed beneath a piece of glass, becomes an illuminated coffee table.
Von Colln believes that great art is born from uncertainty. For him, “inspiration comes from being outside of your normal boundaries.” He frequently places himself in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations, allowing those unsettling moments to inform his work. His affection for abandoned buildings combined with a commitment to recycling materials has led to a style that, he says, is “about refunctioning the functional in a different manner.”
As a native Nashvillian, Von Colln regrets that much of the city’s industrial history is being disposed of, piece by piece, when so many other cities, like Chicago, embrace their material past. Perhaps that is the core message his lighting collection illuminates.
Von Colln’s work can be viewed and purchased at www.arcborn.com. His work is also available at A Thousand Faces in Hillsboro Village.
photo: Eric England