in the making. barber & osgerby and the design museum.
above> aluminum front of a london underground train at the entrance to the in the making exhibition
The Design Museum in London, presents “In the Making” an exhibition curated by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. An interesting theme is the capturing in various and unfinished states of the production process of 24 objects. The curators comment ‘We have always been fascinated by the making process as it is an integral part of our work. We have curated an exhibition that will provide a platform to capture and reveal a frozen moment in the manufacturing process and unveils an everyday object in its unfinished state. Often the object is as beautiful, if not more so, than the finished product!’
derwent pencils in the making |unfinished swarovski crystal / photography györgy kőrössy
coke can | charles sofa designed by antonio citerio for b&b italia / photography györgy kőrössy
Most of the pieces are everyday objects – we see forks, pencils, tennis balls and a Coke can. There are indeed B&O objects. The 2012 Olympic torch. My favorite is indeed a B&O creation for Italian furniture producer Vitra, the Tip Ton Chair. The chair is made of made of polypropylene and is manufactured from a single mould without the use of mechanical components. This makes it extremely durable and up to 100% recyclable and defines a whole new chair typology: the solid plastic chair with forward-tilt action. The chair still may need to prove that its ‘half-rock’ feature is both good for the back and blood circulation. Tip Ton is also a candidate for iconic object with its innovative and proprietary profile.
the 2012 olympic torch manufacturing process
tip ton
An important underlying idea in the installation is a glance at the ongoing dialogue between designers and manufacturing through the making process. ‘This perspective is distinctive to their practice: throughout their careers, Edward and Jay have had a curiosity about the way things are made.’ Though there are several videos of the manufacturing process the ‘in the making’ theme presented an opportunity to go a little deeper into the ‘dialogue’ idea, a unique difference maker with some of the more function-driven, innovation-driven and design-driven objects in this show and like-kind successful objects in general. After all, how do certain products fulfill a need the best or become become iconic in their form and sensitivity. If you indeed get into what’s going on here, prepare to be educated, entertained and maybe even inspired. And discover in London that many of the most advanced techniques for the production of furniture were born right in the Bel Paese.
The exhibition opened on the 22 January and goes until 4 May 2014.
edward barber, jay osgerby
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