Design miami 2010 experience 1.
sotheby’s senior vice president of 20th century design james zemaitis via a flip camera.
Noguchi show, his contemporaries, flow chart.
noguchi museum — november 17, 2010 – april 24, 2011, new york. left: noguchi chart of influences. click photo to enlarge.
A new show celebrating 25 years of the wonderful Noguchi Museum and Garden in Long Island City, Queens, is called “On Becoming an Artist: Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922–1960.” It could have been called Six Degrees of Isamu Noguchi or Linked-in, featuring Isama Noguchi. It even comes with a wall-sized flow chart of connections. Some of the connected names are Bucky Fuller, Alexander Calder, Frieda Kahlo, Martha Graham, George Balanchine.
Noguchi also planned a swimming pool for director Josef Von Sternberg, at his house by Richard Neutra. (It was never built but imagine Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper paddling around together.) He did a bust of Ginger Rogers. More than a sculptor, he was a designer of furniture and lamps for Herman Miller, Knoll and others. He shaped public spaces and playgrounds. He worked with leading artists, designers and architects.
above: my arizona 1943
In 1943 in a wartime internment camp for Japanese Americans he wrote letters to friends like Man Ray and created “My Arizona” a wall sculpture of fiberglass and plastic commenting on the desert village where he lived out the war.
[ noguchi museum—november 17, 2010 – april 24, 2011 ]
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Modernism + Art20. 2010.
culbutor designed by marc held (1965)
above / below: ettore sottsass
above: jason miller was awarded the “modernism” best young designer award–these are his Lego inspired vases
At this year’s Modernism show at The Park Avenue Armory in New York Nov 12-15 two trends were evident. one was a continuing interest in mid century modern furniture. Dealers have now pushed into the eccentric odd corners of that style–eg Marc Held’s “Culbutor.” The second is a revival of interest in postmodernism–at least as embodied in Memphis and Ettore Sottsass ceramic teapots.
Modernism + Art20 is at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, at 67th Street, on Friday from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.; and Monday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 a day or $30 for a two-day pass; (212) 777-5218 or sanfordsmith.com.
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Patrick jouin. Design and gesture.
november 9 / february 6 2011 museum of arts and design new york.
The Museum of Art and Design in New York today premieres “Patrick Jouin: Design and Gesture.” The exhibition is part of the ongoing series “Madprojects.” It includes a series of lamps for the Leucos/FDV Collection. Handcrafted in Venice, the ethereal lamps are composed of tiny tubes and cloud like elements of LEDs and halogen bulbs. They bear such names as REED, ETHER and MERCURE.
The show also includes products Jouin has designed, backed by a looped film exploring the relationship between object and gesture.
museum of art and design: patrick jouin
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Design miami 2010.
1 – 5 december. miami beach usa.
reporting live from the show floor, the design miami blog will provide the latest news and happenings from Design Miami/ 2010. [ DesignApplause on blogroll ]
Nordic models + common ground.
a show of about thirty designs for buildings, furniture, lighting, clothing and other disciplines opened on thursday at scandinavia house in new york. 29 Oct 2010 – 9 Mar 2011.
above: helen & hard ( norway ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “power by nature”
Called Nordic Models + Common Ground: Art and Design Unfolded, the exhibition was organized by Norsk Form—the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway– in collaboration with The American-Scandinavian Foundation, which is celebrating its centennial.
The exhibition was designed and curated by the architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration with Situ Studio.
The show is hosted by Scandinavia House on Park Avenue in Manhattan, practically in the shadow of Grand Central Station, which is a sometimes overlooked refuge for arts and culture from the Nordic countries. (Nordic seems to be the term used to include the Scandinavian nations of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden together with Iceland.) With a lively restaurant and a shop including designs from the area, Scandinavia House also hosts shows and speeches, films and concerts.
The firm Snøhetta is based in Oslo and New York and is known for its designs for the Alexandria Library in Egypt and the Museum Pavilion of the New York World Trade Center site.
Craig Dykers, one of the principles of Snøhetta, was on hand at the opening. He explained the “unfolding” aspect of the title, showing how each of the pieces of display furniture had been created from a single standard piece of plywood, sliced on angles and hinged. “It’s a living hinge,” he said, pointing out how it turned in either direction. The blonde, bare plywood evokes familiar memories of Scandinavian design, notably Alvar Aalto.
“We wanted to arrange it,” Dykers explained, “so that wherever you stand in the gallery you can look around and see an echoing idea.” So hanging lamps pick up on hanging clothing and carbon fiber chairs by Mathias Bengtsson suggest building designs. Wry ceiling lamps called Uggi, by Fanney Antonsdottir and Dogg Gudmundsdottir of Iceland, use the dried bodies of cod fish for their shades.
above: mathias bengtsson ( denmark ) spun chair 2002 – lighter than macbook air
above: fanney antonsdóttir and dögg guđmundsdóttir ( iceland ) dried codfish 2001
The fish not only make a little joke about the region but, as deployed, pick up on the fish-scale-like shingles used to cover the Shanghai expo pavilion by JKMM of Finland. The shingles are made of recycled bottles and other plastic; a sample of them are displayed on the wall beside a huge images of the spherical pavilion.
above: jkmm Architects (finland ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “kirnu”
The show emphasizes the egalitarian qualities shared by the area’s cultures, Dykers said, and there is also a kind of democracy of parts at work in many of the designs. Repeated elements work together in a city shelter structure, a dress, a chair—even in a necklace called Butterfly Disguise II by Liv Blavarp of Norway, of disc like forms of maple, wenge, ebony and reindeer horn.
above: liv blåvarp ( norway ) butterfly disguise II, necklace 2009
above: helen & hard ( norway ) 2010 shanghai expo finnish pavilion “power by nature”
above: daniel rybakken ( norway ) night shot of daylight entrance 2010
“The show is the first in a series of programs marking the ASF’s centennial,” said the Foundation’s president Edward Gallagher.
Resources:
american-scandinavian foundation
scandinavia house
scandinavia house facebook
jkmm architects
mathias bengtsson
gudrun lilja gunnlaugsdóttir
helen & hard
daniel rybakken
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Furniture or art?
bae sehwa fits into that small gap between furniture design and art.
When he presented his work at this year’s Art Basel, he was known as an artist, but Sehwa himself prefers the term ‘furniture artist.’ He first made a name for himself with his series of Lighting Tables that look like plain birch wood until you plug them in to reveal the pattern underneath.
His recent work, however, leans towards more craft-based, one-of-kind furniture, made entirely out of wood. The work that blew away the crowds at Art Basel are from his Steam series that includes lighting and “sittable” pieces made from bent wood.
designer: bae sehwa
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21_21 design sight.
founders and board members naoto fukasawa (product designer), issey miyake (fashion), taku satoh (graphic) at their 21_21 design sight museum.
the impulse for the creation of 21_21 design sight originated during the isamu noguchi exhibition in new york. designer issey miyake, architect tadao ando and sculptor noguchi talked about the need for a place where japanese design could be discovered, promoted and shared. above: logo design: taku satoh naturally. photo: masaya yoshimura for nacasa + partners.
above: in 2006, miyake took his biggest leap yet. he and his two collaborators opened 21_21 design sight in a tokyo building designed by tadao ando. “we always dreamed of a space in Japan,” says miyake, who promises “new and unprecedented solutions” from his unusual venture.
above: tokyo midtown is a new development with a range of offices, parks, shopping malls, apartments, restaurants and museums. the area around roppongi is well known for its many pioneering galleries with contemporary art, architecture and design.
below: “xxst century” exhibition starting on the first anniversary of 21_21 design sight’s opening in 2007, the question arises: where are we headed, now that we live in the century once hailed as the future?
in this show, exhibition director issey miyake has done extensive research to prepare for the show, which includes a wide spectrum of japanese and international creators, all of whom address today’s many doubts and insecurities through their own individual form of creative expression. above: yasuhiro suzuki beginning of time tokyo, 2007 – 2008
above: koutarou sekiguchi it’s departure at a bright night. maebashi, 2007
above: the wind installation in issey miyake’s creative room
above: stickman by dui seid
above: “the outline” exhibition – the unseen outline of things. exhibition design by naoto fukasawa and tamotsu fujii.
above: an ‘outline’ is a contour of something. it is also the boundary that delineates an object and its surrounds. since that which surrounds an object is air, the outline of a hole in the air that is shaped like an object is the same as the outline of the object itself. the air is also a metaphor for the atmosphere around that object. this air (atmosphere) is composed of everything that exists around the object – elements such as peoples’ experiences and memories; customs and gestures; time, circumstance and sound; technology and culture; and history and trends. should even one of these elements change, and the outline of the object changes too. people share this outline of the air implicitly. my job is to determine this outline and to design something that slots right into it. ~naoto fukasawa
above: the “post fossil” exhibition brings together over 130 works of 71 participants. this collection poses the question, “how will the designers of tomorrow look to past in order to invent the future?” as it “excavates” and analyzes new creative trends in and for the 21st century, which are embodied in materials, colors, shapes, processes, themes, images, techniques, and other elements, this exhibition searches for clues necessary for the human beings to live and define their future.
above: post fossil curator li ddelkoort.
more about 21_21 design sight
Resources:
architoniciconeye
dezeen
architectural record
Bespoke: Handbuilt bicycles.
This exhibition features the designs of six inter – nationally renowned bicycle builders who have authored some of the most revolutionary developments in their craft.
Richard sachs. Bike designer.
The “About” section on Richard Sachs’ website may read like a self-assured campaign manifesto, if not, at times, like a straight up ego trip, but it’s not as if Sachs hasn’t earned his fair share of bragging rights in his 38-year-long bike building career.
Since he opened shop in 1972, Sachs has become one of the world’s foremost bike builders, with a fleet of handmade wonders that have graced the track at velodrome. There’s a lot about his process that sets him apart, like the fact that he does everything by hand, by himself. No apprentices, no employees, no outsourcing.
From choosing the geometry of the frame to filing the lugs, Sachs Cycles is a one-man show. As you might guess, his turn-of-the-century methods don’t give into currents trends in materials or construction, and he doesn’t hesitate at sneering at the competition. “For some companies, only tubing recently declassified by the Department of Defense will do.” Sachs, on the other hands, doesn’t change his materials, tube shape or the position of the riding angle. He doesn’t build concept bikes or “unrideable prototypes,” and he doesn’t take shortcuts. All this attention to detail takes time, and apparently makes little money. “The bike industry makes money. I make bikes.”
Even if the words “control freak” come to mind, you have to admire his dedication to the craft, not to mention his obvious skill. Working solo, he says, is the only way he can guarantee such high standards. In his words, “the weak link is always the work force. At Richard Sachs Cycles, I am the work force.” It’s a business model from which he’s never diverted, from cutting and brazing the tubes to answering the phone, Sachs is a one-man operation. “If you have a question about frame design or construction, proper fit, acceptable alignment, anything at all, call me,” he says. “I will be the one answering your call and I would be very pleased to tell you more.”
If you’re in New York you can see some of Richard’s work at the Museum of Art and Design as part of their latest exhibition, “Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bike,” up until August.
Designer: richard sachs — visit gallery on his site. images from his new flickr page
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