Tuesday, November 13, 2007

His Creativity

His projects had intelligence, humor, sanity, wackiness, sophistication, modesty and poetry...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

peter noble was a truly amazing individual - my wife and i will miss him dearly. he designed the lighting for our home in marin and was such a beacon of energy and enthusiasm. the last time he came to our house (to adjust some lights) he was talking about how much he adored his girlfriend and how much fun he was having in taking up mtn climbing. he laughed for hours over glasses of wine. the news of his passing was a complete shock and is a terrilble loss. RIP peter. you brought energy to our lives and we will miss your presencen in our lives. you lived life to the fullest and brought laughter and smiles to the people who surrounded you. a life cut too short, but a life that left many happy memories for those who you interacted with. we will always think of you as we turn on the lights in our house.
Posted sfgate.com 11/12/2007 10:47:05 PM

Philip Cecchettini said...

My wife and I met Peter in 2006 when our architect, Margaret Griffin, hired him to design the lighting for our home remodel in Marin County. While we only saw him about three times over the course of the year, Peter influenced me the way that rare professor in graduate school inspired me to think outside the box. Email invitations to special artists' dinners got me to think in new ways about food—slow and fast; openings at Transmission Gallery exposed me to young and talented artists I would not otherwise meet; the creative snacks at the openings made me expect a Guiseppe Arcimboldo creation at the next opening; and, hearing his plans for Burning Man, I thought someday/maybe. His memory will continue to light up my life.

Anonymous said...

What a tragedy! Peter was such a great person. He was always so positive, so inspiring. I first met Peter on a project in Malibu, CA.in 2005. We were building a high end custom home. It was an amazing design, one of a kind, multi-million dollar project. Peter was the lighting designer for this project and I was the construction project superintendant. On one of Peter’s early visits to this project, Peter and I discovered that we grew up about 15 minutes away from each other. He grew up in Williamsville, NY. I grew up in Cheektowaga, NY. These two towns border each other just outside Buffalo, NY. I had a girlfriend who lived in Williamsville. I used to go to some of the same hangouts that Peter did. Fast forward about thirty years and here we were both working on the same project in Malibu, CA. We laughed about it being such a small world.
The project in Malibu had many challenges and every time we hit a snag with a lighting issue, Peter was there with a solution. He never complained about the situation. He always took a fresh approach and encouraged us to a resolution. What an amazing person.
I feel saddened by the loss of Peter. Life is so precious. We need to savor every minute of our life. You never know when your time is up. I will say a prayer for Peter. I hope that all of his friends and loved ones can rejoice in the love and memory that Peter gave to all of us.
Respectfully,
Derek Hilburger

Anonymous said...

I went to architecture school with Peter. He was brilliant, intense and visionary. I learned from his projects, his intelligence, humor, sanity, wackiness, sophistication, modesty and poetry. In school Peter was always deliberate, thoughtfully-positioned and superbly prepared. And yes, even then he could climb like a spider. How appropriate that he became an architect of light. His death is a cruel fluke, his passion for life and his work cut short. My heart goes out to those who loved him.
Posted sfgate.com 11/13/2007 1:13:56 AM

Anonymous said...

peter was infectiously enthusiastic, creative and inspired. we went to architecture school together and i cant believe this news.

Laura Ciapponi said...

well, his creativity was also in his love. peter and i shared copious emails over the last year of us knowing each other. here is one i would like to share.

he and i were in such a beautiful place this last month. seemed our future had arrived. his heart was and will always be precious to me- i am ever grateful to have held it close.

Begin forwarded message:
From: Peter Noble peter@revolverdesign.com
Date: May 17, 2007 7:58:56 PM PDT
To: laura ciapponi lauraciapponi@mac.com
Subject: some tender thoughts

dearest laurelin,

so sweet to pass a few hours of climbing fun with you, to cheer you upward into the dizzying heights, sharing your time, your presence, the occassional warm caress, a friendly squeeze, the leaning of two familiar bodies into each other...

in light of the general theory, i now understand better that delicious sensation of comfort and calm that i feel with you: the gentle resonance of two attuned mammal-brains, each seeking an echoing, sustaining other with which to synchronize, if even for only a brief interval, the inner rythyms - circulation, breath, and even thought. to say nothing of the occasional perfectly timed sigh, when walking together, hands clasped, bodies grasped.

hey you just called! and in the middle of my discursive reverie (as you can see, i have already started dear roland's book - so exquisite!), but i must finish the thought, the figure...

i find it remarkable how comfortable i am with you, after knowing each other so briefly, even if with great intensity. there is, at least for me, a strong feeling of "fitting together" and of a nurturing, harboring security in your presence. perhaps it is this surprising complementarity (at some deep level, below thought) which draws us so tightly to each other, with sometimes seeming unresistable force. like the physical forces of our happy universe, it appears love also follows the inverse square law, with mutually attractive pull increasing rapidly as distance is reduced. once i am inches from your skin, a sweet event horizon of sweat, smell, and tactile sensation, nothing can hold me back from falling into that warm infinity, and remaining there for an eternity (although maybe only an instant to an outside observer - love, like gravity, warps time itself). you are my singularity, about which my feelings, thoughts, and furry mammal self now orbits, trapped in happy predicament.

profoundly nourished by your starlight,
telumbe

Anonymous said...

I was lucky enough to share a day of "car time" with Peter a month or so ago, enroute to a job I was desparate for his help on. I knew if Peter was involved, the result would be transformative for the space in need as well as for my clients. The interior of a car can get "close" after six hours as did the nature of our conversation. I learned about his recent inspiring experience at Burning Man, his love for Laura, climbing, design, food, science, nature and more. All topics Peter infused with his wonderful sense of humor and sweet lightness of spirit. I will so miss his contribution to making the wordly more beautiful.

Larry Edelstein said...

I'd only met Peter once, but I enjoyed his company and admired his creativity, initiative, and circle of friends. It was awful to hear that he was no longer with us.

Unknown said...

i had the fortunate pleasure to work with peter on prana's retail launch this past year. it was a joy to witness his passion for the outdoors through the enthusiasm he applied to our project. besides benefitting from his expertise in lighting design, as a ucla and southern california transplant i always looked forward to chatting with him about his sci-arc days. he will be missed.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I were talking to Peter about a potential job in a historically significant space in October of 2007. He responded enthusiastically, and then disapeared. I knew Peter and his can do amazing spirit from other projects and this did not seem in keeping with his style. We brushed it off as him not being interested, but to learn he died within the month is heartwrenching. He was amazing, and we truly mourn his passing.

semaphora said...

I still miss Peter. We were at Burning Man together in 07. He was a bright light and I still remember the warmth of his presence, his laughter, and his insight. Sending so much love to the universe in which his soul has rejoined all light.