Talking to Beau McClellan is fun, but never relaxing. His mind is like quicksilver, and his tongue tends to rival his brain. And the quotes he churns out: "Functionality needs design, and design needs to be functional." How can you afford to relax when he spouts such quotable lines while describing his varied creative efforts?
There's no doubt there is something of the showman in Beau. He looks like a rock star (he is a musician, by the way), an aquiline Spanish heartthrob if you will (which probably comes from living in Algarve, Portugal, for many years), is athletic and warm and earthy to boot. A potent combination.
But when you look at examples of his real passion – creating lights – you forget all that. In fact, describing them as mere lights or chandeliers seems grossly inadequate. They are dramatic no doubt, mirrors and minimalist chic, but the manner in which they tend to dramatise the setting is indescribable. He shows me a 3-D vision of his most ambitious project, one he is currently working on in Qatar.
The chandelier, for want of a better word, is in the shape of a river flowing between a gorge in a valley. It is by far the largest one he's made, and certainly a fitting centrepiece to a building, still under construction on the Corniche Road in Doha. "It will weigh 15 tonnes... can you imagine? It's a big piece." An understatement, one of the few Beau makes during the interview.
"The inspiration came from the building itself and the man behind the building, Mr Hitne," he says. "There are no architects in this project, just consultants. He came up with a vision of his own, for a different type of building. I fell in love with his attitude and positivity, and that was part of my inspiration."
Inspired it certainly is. The pictures of it at daytime are dramatic enough; the reflected glass used extensively in the chandelier reflects daylight of the atrium it will be suspended from to light up the entire stretch between the buildings on either side in varied hues.
"Throughout the day it will reflect the natural light that comes in through the atrium," says Beau.
As he speaks in his mesmerising baritone that lulls you into his world, you see his vision in your mind and realise how he succeeded in the many fields he has tried his hands at: as art director and producer in advertising; singer, songwriter and composer; art director and set designer in films; set and lighting designer in theatre; sculptor and furniture designer; and of course in his current avatar of lighting designer.
In fact, that's how he views his work: as a blend of all his talents. "When light passes through these panels," he says, explaining how the chandelier will be more than a mere showpiece, "You'll see it all in a different, um, light: the people, shade… like an interactive sculpture, if you wish."
Then with a flourish of his hands, he conjures up another vision as the 3-D animation spins its heart out on his laptop. "At night, all of this becomes transparent and then we have the beautiful white show – let me just spin this for you... the view from above... the light panels... It's a very interesting piece. It's completely interactive. You walk beneath it and it changes shape."
His words conjure up a magic that is palpable. Therein lies his success: creating magic with light and words. The work itself is sheer hard labour once he's developed the basic concept. "For instance, this chandelier.
Conceiving the idea was very difficult. When I first came in to take a look at the project I fell in love with the building but I really had no idea what I was going to do.
I was just given a budget to work on the conceptual idea, and given two months' time. The first month was spent in my design room, thinking up umpteen ideas, but none worked. It was just two weeks before I had to submit the concept that I thought, 'It's a gorge, so I should put a river inside here!' So, that's pretty much what I did. I put a river of light in the space to create a reflective corner."
Materials are a very good source of inspiration for Beau, but "you have to pick the right ones. I think the most important thing is to get the correct brief from the client; what he's trying to achieve."
Beau's past experience in various fields stand him in good stead. "I used to work as an art director for films, and that role was very similar, trying to bring to life the vision of the director, to interpret it in your style," he says.
Suddenly he switches channels. "Dubai has been very important for me," he announces, remembering how he bagged this assignment in the first place.
"We did a show here, Light Middle East, last year and I had brought this chandelier which I loved. Mr Hitne saw it, so I knew he would like me to incorporate some of it in the chandelier I am doing for him now. So, I am using some of the reflective glass that I used in it to great effect."
The technology for this project is being provided by a firm in Montreal. "They've worked with the Cirque du Soleil, and are one of the best in lighting," says Beau. "I got them because what I want to do here in terms of lighting is very, very complicated in terms of programming."
Ask Beau to describe his creation and he does it with a Scottish sense of economy: special aluminium extrusions, beautiful hand drawing, crystal and glass with special coating, and stainless steel. But he's loquacious when it comes to relating how he started designing lights.
"I am a self-taught designer and all the things I have been involved with have been connected to art," he says.
"I was a singer-songwriter for a number of years, then I was an artist-blacksmith, theatre lighting, art direction for films, and now everything's come together. I know what I want to be when I grow up! All these different elements have pushed me towards this.
"I remember when I first wanted to get into lighting. It's a form of communication, almost like music. You can create an atmosphere very quickly by turning a light bulb on or off, by introducing colours. So, it was a natural progression for me.
I spent more time checking out fairs in places like Milan. There is a band of underground designers in Milan who are anti-establishment, and then there are also the big shows where I got an understanding of where the design is going. I was a little bit disappointed by what I saw, so I thought I could do something. And that's what I did. Coming from a very different background I had a different take on lighting.
I did a series of very nice chandeliers for clients around the world and as the chandeliers kept getting bigger and bigger, the clients got bigger as well!"
So much so that the normal chandeliers he designs cost between €150,000 and €500,000. The cost of the Qatar chandelier will remain undisclosed.
And the inspiration for his works of art? Nature. The Scottish brevity again? Nah. Here it comes: "I had a very privileged childhood. I grew up in a very small island that forms part of the Hebrides, northeast of Scotland. The privilege was not in terms of money or comfort, but in terms of quality of life. There was no crime, this wonderful beach; I was totally in connection with nature.
If I ever get stuck for designs I just have to go there, there are so many great designs in the nature out there... I grew up outdoors mostly.
I went to a little primary school there in Benbecula, a very tiny island. That's the part of my childhood that I remember the most. I am now based in Portugal in a very nice farmhouse."
Beau understands he's in an enviable position. "I am very lucky," he grins. "I don't take what I do for granted. I am in a privileged position to jump around these various projects all over the world."
But it's a lot more than luck. "I put a lot of effort into what I do because I am passionate about what I do," he concurs.
"It's not only design that we do, we'll do the manufacturing, the fitting… I'll be there at every stage, all the way. It's not about being a control freak; I am just a perfectionist. The most important thing about my business is my name so I won't allow anything to damage that."
Part of his success is his clear sightedness. He ran a major design company. But it got too big for his liking. "I had a very big company, but I scaled everything down when I found I didn't get enough time to design," he shrugs, no regrets.
"We now manufacture everywhere, it's a new way of working for us. A small creative team and then we work with different companies around the world. It's great, has much more scope."
Beau decides on the lighting based on the client's personality. "I like to spend time with them and then it becomes easier to choose. I don't like to speak to the architect or the designer. Then comes the building, it
is very important too. If the chandeliers go to the wrong house, they are not going to be happy there. They are like babies, you know."
So, where is the music that set it all rolling? "I was always in love with music from an early age. I played with a band in Scotland. I still do it when I have the time, and I own a recording studio. I'll still do an album, just for me, not a commercial thing. "Music led me into this life. That was also the reason I got into the film business.
I wrote soundtracks for some small films. Then I drifted into set direction and so on. The challenge in doing music for advertising films like the ones I did for Nike and Coca Cola, is to fit it into the 30-second slot. Quite a challenge to express the emotions required within that time."
Beau learnt his work ethic from those days. "When I was on stage with the band, in front of small or big crowds, the one thing you had to keep in mind is that they were there to watch you and listen to you. They are not bothered if you have a wife, a bill to pay or whatever that distracts you, for the 45 minutes or so you are there performing. If I can do the same thing with my big sculptures, that's where I get my pleasure from."
Then came the love affair with steel. "I just fell in love with forged steel, the way you can bash a piece of steel when it's hot and freeze it to get something else. I like to take very heavy pieces of steel and when I am finished with them they are very malleable and tactile, all the inert heaviness is gone. From there I went to make some very big chandeliers out of stainless steel, and that's really what sparked things for me.
I realised that I knew how to make these things ecstatically beautiful. But I didn't know anything about lighting until that point. That was the juncture at which I learnt about lighting. I got so involved that that took over my life."
Beau then started designing for a German lighting company, Brumberg. "They were a huge company but not really into design and the communication of design. That was my first challenge. I did a collection for them, my first branded range for which we won four Red Dots, which was incredible.
The Red Dots are design awards; they are the Oscars of the lighting industry. That was when I felt that I had made my mark as a designer. Before that it was like, 'He's a blacksmith, he's a designer, he's a theatre guy… What is he?' By winning the Red Dot I arrived in the lighting world."
Lighting as an art form? Don't laugh.
Beau will just stare you down. "I think lighting is a very feasible art form."
Take another look at his work and see the smile fade from your face.
But lighting and green technology? Yes, sir. "One thing that's very close to me when I design lights is the ecological impact. With new technology, and the new LEDs (light emitting diodes), I can make these huge chandeliers and it still doesn't consume much energy.
That was one of the challenges when I was last here in Dubai that I put to architects and to other designers. The new technology can be very green.
We use only LEDs now. I wasn't a very committed 'green' person, but now it's really become an issue, and because my projects are becoming bigger and bigger I couldn't ignore the problem.
I had to address it. It is very important. Even with the branded range, where you use it for a period and throw it away which creates an environmental problem, what I try to do when I design them is I don't think of fashions and trends because then you are making something disposable. Fashion changes.
I just try and design iconic pieces that will stand the test of time. Hopefully!" And that is the statement he's trying to make with his lighting range. "The statement I am trying to make is you can have very spectacular lighting while consuming very little electricity."
Nothing else? "Art is in the eye of the beholder," says Beau. "It's very important to leave it there. It's like how music used to be. You heard it on the disc and you saw it in your imagination. Now you have the music videos, which interpret the song and you cannot imagine it in your own way anymore. For me everything goes back to music! I can explain everything I do in terms of music."
As an artist trying to bring light into our lives, how does he view darkness? "Darkness versus light?" he says, bemused. "Your dark can be nice as well. You can't sleep in the light.
They both have to co-exist. One cannot exist without the other. Without understanding your dark side, you're not going to be able to see the light side. If you don't have bad times, it's going to be very difficult to appreciate your good times!"
When Beau is in a dark mood, "the best way to get out of it is to kite-surf. Of course, my first release is my wife, and my eight-month-old son, Skye!" Beau is getting to the stage where he can choose his work, "I am now in the lucky position of being able to choose my projects.
Rather like an actor who chooses his films. He realises that he's going to spend a huge amount of energy on the project, and doesn't want to spend it on the wrong one. You're going to waste a good year of your life, and my year is like three years! I work very, very hard. The contract for the Qatar project was signed in May 2007.
It will take about 18 months for completion. Sometimes
I wake up in the night and drive down to my workshop – about 15 minutes from my home – and work on an idea that just popped up.
Stray thoughts on being a designer? "Being a designer is like a social passport. I can be on somebody's private jet going wherever or I can be on a fisherman's boat. Both are nice and can teach you different things. I am very lucky in that."
So, what is the best light? The answer is unexpectedly simple.
"For me the best light in the world is the candle. You can't beat it, you know?" he says animatedly. "Every skin tone looks fantastic. You can get so much emotion from natural candlelight. But I think it's quite possible to mix the two. A lot of effort is being spent in designing buildings that allow natural light in. My house also has a lot of big windows to allow as much light as possible.
"The special light for me should be an emotion. That is the function of light. It's like when you walk into a restaurant that's not properly lit, you don't enjoy your food. Light is the fastest way of communicating. If you walk into a cold house and there is a fire there, even if it's only on the television screen, you feel warm.
If you use very cold blue lights you will feel cold. It's the way our body interprets the atmosphere. Lighting is a very important element of communication in our lives."And Beau McClellan is the master of that art.
