SSM2 96 in Pendant Light | Blackjack Lighting

SSM2 is a suspended field of light shaped into a wave. Four hundred Short Frosted pendants hang on fine cables from a square 96-inch canopy, and their lengths are set so that, together, their tips trace a smooth arching curve that dips and rises across the space. From below or from a balcony you read not individual lamps but a single sculptural surface made of points, like a curtain of rain caught mid-motion.

Only the LED makes this possible. Each pendant is a tiny frosted cylinder drawing just 2 W, small and cool enough that hundreds can hang together without visual or thermal clutter, and the drivers are built into the canopy above. Lit, the wave becomes a glowing three-dimensional form that changes as you move around it; unlit, it is a fine, rhythmic installation of cables and points. The finish applies to the canopy faceplates and sockets: Matte Black, White or Polished Chrome.

Design notes

• A sculpted wave: 400 frosted pendants with lengths set to form an arching wave about 31.25 in deep.
• Monumental scale: sixteen 24 in square canopies form a 96 in (nominal) square, made for atriums, stairwells and lobbies.
• Tiny light points: each Short Frosted pendant uses 2 W and 86 lumens, so the effect is a soft glow, not glare.
• Field adjustable: overall height up to 102 in, adjustable on site.
• Three finishes: Matte Black, White or Polished Chrome on faceplates and sockets; white has a white backplate, the others black.

Specifications

Downloads

• SSM2 specification sheet (PDF)
• SSM2 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!" SSM2 is that idea at full architectural scale: four hundred tiny frosted lights shaped into a single glowing wave.

Questions

What is the design idea behind SSM2?

To use hundreds of tiny lights as a drawing medium. Four hundred frosted pendants of carefully set lengths form one continuous arching wave, so the installation reads as a single sculptural surface.

Who designs 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 built around LED.

Which finish should I choose?

The finish shows on the canopy faceplates and sockets. White disappears against a white ceiling so the wave of light floats. Matte Black gives a strong dark plane above the wave, and Polished Chrome adds reflection.

How much light does it give, and can it be dimmed?

58,000 lumens in total at 3000K with a 90 CRI, spread across 400 soft points. The universal drivers dim with TRIAC, ELV or 0-10V controls.

What warranty does it carry?

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