bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

C.B. Liddell

'IN CHINA, THE fluorescent tube is everywhere,'  says lighting designer  Ingo Maurer. 'It's like a Hopper painting when you go to a restaurant - it's so ugly and strong, but impressive in some way.'

On a visit to Japan, where his career is being celebrated in a touring exhibition at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Maurer is only too happy to talk about China, a constant source of inspiration.   'I remember 20 years ago when I visited Hong Kong,  you had these massive apartment blocks built on the hills at Aberdeen,' he says. 'At night, seen from the distance you had the cold, icy light towers of these apartments, all moving with the flickering of televisions. I thought it was beautiful to look at from the distance, but I wouldn't want to live there. Thankfully, things are starting to change.'

China is  the next stop on Maurer's Asia itinerary, with visits to Shanghai and Hong Kong, where he's working on a major artistic project using light. 'We have a contract, so all I can say is it's a large, very surrealistic project for some serious art collectors,' he says.

The Tokyo show, entitled Light - Reaching for the Moon, has  visited several European cities, and will move to Osaka after Tokyo. With about 120 items, it gives a comprehensive overview of the award-winning designer's work going back four decades, and features rare prototypes, serially produced lamps and one-off pieces, as well as models, photographs and films.

What sets Maurer apart from other  successful designers, such as his close friend  Philippe Starck, is that he's chosen to devote himself to just one area of design. But looking at his ingenious hanging bulbs, lampshades made from the most unlikely materials, lights embedded in glass tables with no  obvious source of current, and many other startling designs, it's clear to see that for the still sprightly and energetic 74-year-old and his design team, being limited to light hasn't been a  problem.

Trained as a typographer, Maurer, who was born on the island of  Reichenau in Lake Constance, between Germany and Switzerland, started working in design as a self-taught freelancer while living in the US in the early 1960s. But it was only after his return to Europe that he had the inspiration that truly  set him on his path to stardom. Almost like the cartoon symbol,  his first great inspiration was literally a light bulb above his head.

'I was lying in a cheap pensione in Venice,' he  says, recalling the moment back in 1966 when he had the idea for his first truly successful design. 'I had eaten and drunk well and I was high. The crickets were chirping. I had drunk a nice  Tokai, then I was struck by the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It seemed to look much larger than normal.'

The result was Bulb (1966),  a table lamp that expanded the motif of the bulb to the whole lamp, creating what looks like a giant freestanding light bulb. He  talks about the  visual appeal of the  bulb as the 'perfect union of technology and poetry', and its form is a recurring theme in his work. One of the most successful subsequent works in this vein is Lucellino (1992), a frosted light bulb on a curved wire stem, decorated with delicately made wings of goose feather, that is also used as the basic component of larger installations  such as Birdie (2004).

The obvious Pop Art characteristics of Bulb prompted  New York's MoMa to add it to its collection four years after its inception. In the same year of its design, Maurer set up his company, Design M, in Munich, later eponymously renamed  as his reputation grew.

The strength of Maurer as a designer is that his  work includes elements of stripped-to-the-bone minimalism as well as richly poetic and allusive visual elements. For example, several works in the exhibition reference his long-standing fascination with Asian art and aesthetics. L'Eclat Joyeus (2005) uses broken Chinese porcelain figures and plates to create  a dynamic lampshade, while Blushing Zettel'z   (1997/2005) uses images inspired by an erotic porcelain figure he found on a trip to China, and artfully sets them around the light source.

Tableaux Chinois (1989)  references Chinese aesthetics, setting floating mirrors on a fishpond and projecting the   patterns created onto a wall.  This mesmerising work  achieves one of  Maurer's cherished goals of making light  visible and 'giving it substance'.

'I called it Tableaux Chinois because it reminded me of a Chinese ink painting,' he  says. 'Each moment is a new work.'

Although individual inspiration has been the wellspring of his work, Maurer's almost obsessive need to be independent has  led him to build  his design company into a major enterprise. This allows him to do what he wants,  but, at the same time, it adds to his risks and responsibilities, making him sometimes painfully aware of the conflict between art and business. 'I have to pay my bills,' he says. 'I have 60 to 70 people working for me. But I try to make as little  compromise as possible. If there is some kind of terrible stinker, I won't do it.'

How  does a famous designer say no to a project worth a lot of money? 'There was one I didn't like,' he  says, referring to the Hamburger Hof project (2000). 'It was a shopping mall refurbishment in Hamburg. It was horrible. I didn't feel as if I wanted to participate because I didn't like the people who owned it, so I just scribbled a throwaway design and sent it to them, hoping that it would be rejected.'

Despite the spirit in which he did it, Maurer's design was extremely ambitious, requiring major architectural changes to drive two large skylight wells through several floors of offices. This would normally have been an additional reason for the design to be rejected. However, the owners were impressed and accepted it, with the result that Maurer was drawn in to the job initially against his will - although he admits that, ultimately, this was a good thing.

Since the 90s, he has increasingly become involved with large architectural-style projects, the  best known being the lighting for the  Westfriedhof Subway Station in Munich in 1998. Here, he conformed to the client's request to use the fluorescent tubes he so detests. He much prefers halogen or light-emitting diodes (LED), two technologies he's helped introduce and popularise. 'Why do people try to improve on natural light?' he  says, referring to the flickering, partial spectrum light created by fluorescent tubes.

Faced with this problem, he skilfully ameliorated the ugly fluorescent glare by using large aluminium dome caps with brightly painted inner surfaces as oversized light shades, giving the unstable light in each dome a rich stable colour.

Some see this quest to refract, soften, and mediate  the insistence of light as the essence of Maurer's work. This is one reason  he's attracted to Asia, where many cultures make use of paper lanterns. Inspired by the  akari lamps of the Japanese sculptor  Isamu Noguchi, Maurer has  produced several highly artistic designs constructed from paper, handmade using Japanese techniques. He's named this 1998 series   MaMo Nouchies, a pun on Noguchi's name. The series includes the elegant   Wo-Tum-Bu, which are equally at home in modernist interiors  and traditional Asian settings.

'I like the light they produce,' he  says. 'Dead light drains you of emotion. That's why I decided to make lamps using Japanese paper. People called up and said, 'Our conferences have become much more inspired, thanks to your light.' So it definitely works.'

Maurer: Light - Reaching for the Moon,   Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (www. operacity.jp/en/ag).  Ends Sept 18



Go with the  glow