SSM 48 in Pendant Light | Blackjack Lighting

SSM is a sculpture made of light points. One hundred Short Frosted pendants, each a tiny glowing tip of frosted acrylic on a slim socket, hang from a 48-inch square canopy built of four 24-inch sections. Their cords are set to different lengths so that, together, the hundred points describe an arching wave: low at the edges and rising through the middle, a curved surface drawn in the air by light alone.

Seen from below, it reads as a dense field of small lights; seen from the side, the curve appears, and the fixture changes as you move around it. The canopy stays flat and dark against the ceiling, so all the attention goes to the wave. The finish applies to the canopy faceplates and sockets: Matte Black for a deep, graphic effect, Polished Chrome for sparkle among the lights, or White, which comes with a white backplate, for the lightest look.

Design notes

• Light as surface: one hundred glowing points, set at graduated drops, form a single arching wave.
• Built from a small module: every point is a Short Frosted pendant, 2 W and 86 lumens each, so the scale comes from repetition, not from size.
• Square plan: four 24 in canopy sections combine into a 48 in square, with the driver inside the canopy.
• Adjustable depth: preset to a maximum drop of 41.5 in, with overall height field adjustable up to 102 in.
• Finish choices: Matte Black, Polished Chrome or White on the faceplates and sockets; black backplate except with White, which has a white backplate.

Specifications

Downloads

• SSM specification sheet (PDF)
• SSM installation instructions (PDF)

Stephen Blackman and Blackjack Lighting

Blackjack Lighting is the studio of industrial designer Stephen Blackman, its President and Chief Design Officer. Trained in industrial design at Syracuse University, Blackman began his lighting career in 1984 at Sonneman Design Group, then founded Blackman Design Associates in 1988, designing decorative and architectural lighting for manufacturers including Kichler. He launched Blackjack in 2013 in suburban Chicago, now based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, to build fixtures conceived for LED from the first sketch.

His argument is that the LED should change the shape of a light, not just its efficiency. Rather than hiding a new source inside old bulb-and-shade forms, Blackjack designs around the small, flat, cool-running LED: thin discs, slim rods, glowing rings and lenses that let the light itself become the object. In his own words, "Decorative lighting by its nature is not primarily about optimizing lamp efficiency, it is primarily about decoration!" SSM takes that idea to architectural scale: a hundred small LED light guides arranged so that the light itself draws the form.

Questions

What is the idea behind SSM?

To draw a shape with points of light. A hundred tiny pendants, set to graduated lengths, together describe a sweeping wave that changes as you walk around it.

Who is behind Blackjack Lighting?

Industrial designer Stephen Blackman, President and Chief Design Officer, who has designed lighting since 1984 and founded Blackjack in 2013 to make fixtures conceived for LED.

Which finish should I choose?

Matte Black makes the canopy and sockets recede so the wave of light dominates. Polished Chrome adds reflections among the hundred points. White, with its white backplate, suits pale ceilings and the lightest overall effect.

How does the light look, and can it be dimmed?

Each pendant gives a soft 86-lumen glow; together they deliver 8,600 lumens at 3000K and 90 CRI. The canopy driver runs on 120-277V with TRIAC, ELV or 0-10V dimming.

What warranty does it carry?

Three years on the integrated LED source and LED power supply, and one year on materials and workmanship, for the original buyer in the US and Canada.