Marlene Krueger

About

  • Bright Shapes, Bright Futures: The Legacy of a 1986 Vision

    In 1986, Don Seiden, Professor at the Art Institute of Chicago, had high respect for Marlene Krueger to pursue her lifelong aspiration. Marlene had always envisioned a future where people of all ages can engage in a simple gesture with light. This innovative approach sought to assist at-risk individuals in externalizing overwhelming emotions, processing trauma in a secure and non-threatening environment, enhancing self-assurance.

    Marlene Develops a Prototype

    Marlene Krueger Explains With Professor Don Sieden Therapeutic ideas with light.png
    Helping People Through Light Therapy With Prof. Don Sieden

    “Throughout my life, I had a vision to develop a device that harnesses the therapeutic properties of light. 

    “Growing up at a ranch when I was six, I’d roam freely through rows of translucent sweet peas glistening from the sun light.

    As the peas were illuminated, I experienced a calming transformation when the pods glowed.

     A flood of light beamed, as I picked up one of the translucent pods, as if reassuring me. A connection with nature enveloped me, and the pain I had experienced earlier disappeared.

    Since that moment, I’ve been driven by an unwavering desire to recreate that timely experience for others to experience.“

    Light Therapy

    In this photo a group of high school teachers learn about kinetic light, with Marlene Krueger, at a dark room in the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago.
    High School teachers city-wide learn about kinetic light with Marlene Krueger, at the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago.

    Light therapy involves using light with a touch of a hand. There’s a sense of joy that ease anxiety and help the nervous system.

    A classroom of students with their desk arranged in the classroom, in a circular style, working on light boxes in class for a therapy practice.
    Teens having a light therapy experience as they study and takes notes in downtown Chicago.

    According to the students, “watching light in motion is a great way to express overwhelming feelings, boost confidence, and work through trauma without having to talk about it. It’s a safe and non-threatening way for treatment”.

    Collaborating With Light

    Here are a group of college students learning to assemble a kinetic light device.
    College students work together to devise their own light ideas.

    Projecting With Light

    The light therapy acts as a mirror to our internal human state, that involves empathy, triggering dopamine-driven pleasure, that provide a type of non-evasive way of healing from complex issues, with emotions such as sorrow and fear.

    High School Students gather around a light device invented by Marlene Krueger to help individuals visualize light kinetics interacting in a group. In a classroom downtown Chicago.
    High School Students gather around a device invented by Marlene Krueger

    Here is a collaborative experience where high school students watch light patterns that shines through a light device invented by Marlene Krueger. Here students place their iridescent work in the central device, aimed at creating light with motion.

    A Universal Language and Light and Motion
    Here is image that is close to dark at Sunset. The sky has a dark ultramarine blue appearance. The clouds are hazy white, translucent with the dark blue sky. The upper part of the sky, you see a cumulus cloud whisping across the sky, and the lower clouds are hazy blending with the dark blue ocean below. The sun reflects on the ocean and the ocean has a dark teal blue appearance. It is a beautiful sunset.
    Close-up of a study of light refracting at night.

    https://www.facebook.com/ArtistMarleneKrueger

    Pfeiffer Beach in the Winter

  • Marlene Krueger | Kinetic Light

    There is an inventor of kinetic light, right in front of one of her prototype. There are Whispering Pods. It's a sort of an Inventor, Marlene Krueger. This is not just moving shadows but burst of colors moving, kinetic light mixed with acrylic paint by Marlene Krueger.

    Reinventing Light Therapy

    Marlene Krueger’s life-long vision of creating a device that uses light to heal is her calling. When she was just six, she spent her days exploring the family ranch, surrounded by rows of sweet peas that sparkled in the sunlight. As the peas glowed, she felt a calming change, like the pods were whispering to her.

    One day, a beam of light seemed to reach out, as if to reassure her. She picked up a translucent pod, and it felt like a connection with nature embracing her, and the pain she had felt before, vanished. From that moment on, she was determined to recreate that magical experience with others.

    At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the top schools in the world, Marlene Krueger was determined to bring her vision to life. She wanted to invent a type of lumia light, just like the one she had imagined as a child, when her experience with pain went away.

    In 1986, Marlene Krueger developed a prototype of her vision. A course in Kinetics, Electronics and Neon inspired her to proceed. Her dream of giving people the chance to heal through light therapy is about to actualize.

    To make her dream a reality, she called Dr. Billy Kluver in New York. She saw a phone number in a magazine that listed his work with machines that move, and kinetic light. He was known for working with many pop artists in New York. 

    At first Marlene thought a receptionist would answer the phone, but instead, she spoke with Dr. Billy Kluver, himself, an engineer at Bell Laboratories who empathized with the pop artist requesting his expertise in engineering with their kinetic light devices. Marlene talked for almost an hour about everything under the sun, sharing her purpose in life. 

    Billy Kluver was so impressed with Marlene that he invited her to meet with him in New York City, along with his wife Julie Martin, a contributing writer with “Art in America.” She wrote many of Dr. Kluver’s experiments with a broad spectrum of kinetic light confiding with famous pop artists in the 1960s.

    Marlene mentioned she could make it during Christmas break, and that was the plan. Dr. Kluver also gave her the number for Earl Riebeck, the inventor of the infinity mirror that was shown in “Star Trek.” He suggested Marlene call him up, and he’d be happy to share some of his insights. So Marlene did, and they actually talked for hours. Later, he invited her to visit him in New York City so he could show her all his inventions. She went.

    Her trip to New York was unforgettable. The experience in New York sparked Marlene to devise a more advanced prototype.

    After Marlene finished a prototype she allowed herself to test it out with her professors at the Art Institute, as well as city-wide high school teachers and college students who were at risk.

    During her final year, she was determined to keep her dream alive. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Immediately she was invited to present and talk about her work with colleges in auditoriums filled with 4-500 people. In addition, her work was recognized, and she received an invitation to exhibit her prototypes and large-scale installations at a gallery located at Merchandise Mart, in downtown Chicago.

  • Pfeiffer Beach

    Big Sur

    Within the Big Sur region of California, Pfeiffer Beach is known for its stunning Keyhole Rock. Every year, photographers from all over the world flock to the beach during the chilly months of December and January to capture the breathtaking sunset that peeks through the arch.

    Key Hole through a large Rock at Phiefer Beach at Sunset

    The steep cliffs that surround the Big Sur coastline has a unique view, making it one of the few spots you can easily access the ocean.

    Tall Trees at Big Sur California
    Tall Cypress Trees along Big Sur California

    Los Padres National Forest

    The road and beach at Pfeiffer Beach are located within the Los Padres National Forest. The road is named after the Western Sycamores that line its path and are close to the beach.

    In the summer, from June to August, you can expect frequent fog and cool temperatures, a local phenomenon called “June Gloom.”

    A Brief History

    The Pfeiffer family first settled in Sycamore Canyon, near the coast, in the winter of 1869. Michael and Barbara Laquet Pfeiffer were traveling to the southern coast of Big Sur when they stopped in Sycamore Canyon. The area was so captivating that they decided not to move south again the following spring. Their eight children married and lived there for many generations. In 1910, the family opened the Pfeiffer Ranch Resort at their original home. Plus, there’s an Esslen midden site nearby.

    Back in 1884, John Swetnam and his wife, Zulema Florence Swetnam, built a cabin right by the Big Sur River. John was so kind that he gave away the first 700 acres (280 hectares) of land, which later became Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

    In the video below, I briefly show how I painted a sunset at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur. The colors in this scene are just amazing! You can see the deep crimson red, warm orange, cool teal blue, vibrant ultramarine blue, and rich purple sand. I wanted to share a step-by-step guide on picking and mixing colors to make such a beautiful picture right there on the Big Sur coastline. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAhR0uI22CQ

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