It is a fascinating, almost magical sight: As "Lumenman", Bernhard Rauscher dances sprightly in complete darkness around the Taycan, the first all-electric sports car from Porsche. In his hand, the artist from Munich brandishes a light that resembles the light sabre used by the Jedi Knights in “Star Wars”. It feels like being transported to a distant galaxy – the silence of the room is tangible, as is the unfolding of the dynamic forces of his creative movement.
The art form, which has been Rauscher’s passion for many years, is called light painting. Analogue tools meet smart technologies from the creative scene. What Lumenman has created with his fluid dance movements becomes visible only on the camera: due to the long exposure time, the artist himself disappears in the darkness, and light traces from up to ten different images appear and place the focus on the surrounded object: the Porsche Taycan.
E-Performance interpreted
Like no other sports car, the first all-electric Porsche stands for electricity, a zero-emissions powertrain, precision, performance – and the future of sporty mobility. Bernhard Rauscher allowed himself to be inspired by exactly these attributes to create his series of images. “Electricity and light go hand in hand for me. I wanted to embed the car in pure energy. My shapes are not geometrical, but are organic, like the flow of energy,” he comments.
Through precision to perfection
The photographer Bernhard Rauscher develops his works of art with a great passion for detail and precision. The professional light painter is well-known as Lumenman within the art scene and on the social media platform Instagram, and is one of the leading artists in the world in his field. Ten years ago, an exhibition on the subject of light inspired him to experiment with the long exposure function of his camera and to extend the boundaries of what is possible. Since then, the photographer has been creating art with light, irrespective of whether people or sports cars serve as the inspiration.
For him, the special thing about light painting is the fact that he can influence the motif himself and be creative. The same also applies to the interpretation of the energy flow around the Porsche Taycan. “The exciting thing about my work is that it is possible to slowly get closer to a solution using the prototyping method, that is to say constantly trying out things, until you have achieved perfection. That is equally true for both light painting and vehicle development. The latter also needs endurance, creativity and an innovative spirit before an idea makes it onto the road. That fascinates me and creates a bond.”
The art of performance
For his works of art, Rauscher is constantly developing new light brushes – so-called light tools, which allow new forms to be created. “You naturally want to develop further and create something new,” says Lumenman.
He produced a special one-off tool for the Porsche Taycan artwork: a light blade with an acrylic glass lens with four milled holes, which produce fluorescent light effects that lend a special energy structure to the image. The inspiration for this structure was provided by the distinctive four-point look of the headlights, which give the Taycan the unmistakable Porsche brand identity.
Inspired by Porsche
“Inspired by Porsche” is a series of reports from the Porsche Newsroom, in which artists use their particular form to interpret how they are inspired by Porsche. In Part 2, light painter Bernhard "Lumenman" Rauscher visualises the powertrain and sporty mobility of the Taycan using light. In Part 1, world ballet star Friedemann Vogel danced the dynamic characteristics of a Panamera E-Hybrid in the middle of Stuttgart.
