Josef Albers – DesignApplause

expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #2.

Sep 21, 2019

above > study for homage to the square / josef albers / david zwirner (new york, london, paris, hong kong) – booth 239 / 1954 – 1960

what is the difference between art and design? i think it comes down to function. design can have many functions, whereas art has one single function. the function of art.

the question of what’s the difference between art and design often comes up at art expositions, perfect launchpads for such a confabulation. in this instance, DesignApplause submits that architecture, design, and engineering are one and the same.

> “what is the difference between art and design? as it applies to graphic design, i will say that the difference between art and design or artist and designers, is expression vs communication. … expression is about the artist and their view, design is about the audience and viewer. expression can be abstract and intangible but design has to be clear for the most part.” ~ anonymous

> “when one attempts to define art, there will be an artist to prove it wrong. ‘art is beautiful’ art becomes ugly. ‘art is emotional’ art becomes emotionless. ‘art is form’ art becomes idea. that’s the problem, art will always shatter definitions.

having said that, i will ignore my own advice and take a crack. i think it comes down to function. design can have many functions, whereas art has one single function. the function of art. digging deeper, the art concept can be portrayed in many different ways. the function of art isn’t singular, its endless.

so design is applied art? or maybe an eames chair is a design object when you’re trying to sell it or sit in it, and an art object when you’re observing it, etc. ~ anonymous

DesignApplause asked galleries if their artists in this show pursued any architectural or design studies in their background. 25 of 39 (64%) galleries point out the following:

above > elevator / gregory scott / catherine edelman gallery (chicago) – booth 167 / 2019

gregory has always blurred the lines between painting and photography, incorporating paintings he did of himself, or his body, back into his photographs. the resulting images were both humorous and odd, challenging the viewer’s perception of photographic truth. then, at the age of 49, scott decided to go to graduate school to strengthen his knowledge of art history and video making. having successfully merged his love of painting and photographs, his interest turned to video and its ability to move and manipulate still images. he received his bachelor degree in graphic design from the institute of design at iit in chicago in 1979 and his master of fine art from indiana university in 2008.

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above > horizontal obeah golio / remy jungerman / fridman gallery (new york) – booth 365 / 2016-18

remy brings together motifs from the de stijl movement with the maroon culture and the winti religion of his native suriname. he is interested in the journey of patterns and textures across time periods and continents. in jungerman’s works, the pared-down, highly stylized forms and primary colors of dutch modernism with inspiration from masters artist/designer piet mondrian and designer gerrit rietveld.

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above >jigawatts / sarah pichilkostner / josh lilly gallery (london) – booth 249 / 2019

the long-term research by sarah is focused on the representation of energy, time, space, self-optimization, productivity, self-reflection and empathy created by objects. solutions involve an interest and understanding of mechanical engineering. through a deep study of the behavior of materials, that combines effortless contemporary methods with laborious and outmoded fabrication techniques, pichlkostner reflects on the social behavior of and towards objects.

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above > tropic of cancer II / john little / mccormick gallery (chicago) – vallarino fine art (new york) – booth 255 / 1960

john started as a very successful textile and wallpaper designer. in 1933 he began classes at the art students league with george grosz, painting mainly cezannesque landscapes and then with hans hofmann in both new york and provincetown, which pushed him towards abstraction and his first serious involvement as a painter. he also happened to be a neighbor of lee krasner and jackson pollock, whom he became close friends.

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above > flow / emi ozawa / richard levy gallery (albuquerque) – booth 424 / 2019

emi strategically arranges color, form, and shadow to create compositions that shift when viewed from different perspectives. originally from tokyo, she studied woodworking at the university of the arts in philadelphia and later an mfa in furniture design from risd.

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above > sound landscape / void /galerie papillon (paris) – booth 413 / 2019

two artists arnaud eeckhout and mauro vitturini founded void to use sound as a medium to represent reality. the medium give shape to move through different fields of design in the form of installations, sculptures, objects, videos, paintings, and performances.

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above > mappings / kay rosen / rené schmitt (berlin) – booth 132 / 2019

kay works with language using words and letters and strategically lays out the content to manipulate the meanings in a very clever and insightful way. though not formally trained as a graphic designer, her typography and design skills inspire.

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above > untitled / devin reynolds / royale projects (los angeles) – booth 272 / 2019

raised in venice, ca, reynolds grew up working on fishing boats, scavenging flea markets with his mother, and surfing crudely painted boards emulating artists such as drew brophy and sean spoto, memories that have greatly informed his practice. inspired by barry mcgee and margaret killgallen, his obsession with marking his alias on the sides of boxcars moved into the studio where graffiti still greatly informs the scale and application of materials used in his work today. reynolds left southern california for new orleans, la to study at tulane university where he received his ba in architecture.

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above > rossiniére / georges rousse / sous les etoliles gallery (new york) – booth 263 / 2015

georges has been a photographer since the age of 9 and evolved into architectural photography, inventing a unique approach that shifted the relationship of painting to space. he began making installations in the types of abandoned or derelict buildings that have long held an attraction for him – creating ephemeral, one-of-a-kind artworks by transforming these sites into pictorial spaces that are visible only in his photographs. he fits well into oscar niemeyer‘s definition of architecture, “”architecture is invention.”

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above > study for homage to the square / josef albers / david zwirner (new york, london, paris, hong kong) – booth 239 / 1954 – 1960

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above > corona & bar cabaret / robert cottingham / tandem press & apex gallery (madison) – booth 262 / 2015 & 2019

although robert is known for his photorealistic depictions of signs, storefront marquees, railroad boxcars and letter forms, he does not consider himself a photorealist artist. his imagery, while derived from the photographs he takes, expands on the photographic image, it does not replicate it. he received his bfa degree from the pratt institute. he later studied art at the arts center college of design.

[ expo chicago 2019: expression vs communication look #1 ]

a serendipitous moment via moholy-nagy chicago design archive and designer steve liska .

Oct 17, 2017

above> sculpture class in school of design / 610 fairbanks chicago / c 1940

serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for…
this article intends to provoke an ongoing conversation re chicago’s design history. let’s begin with a philosophy of “one must look back to move forward” and with elements necessary to this narrative — in chronological order… bauhaus movement, lászló moholy-nagy, new bauhaus in chicago, the chicago design archive, and chicago designer steve liska. an aside, this year, iit institute of design is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its founding as the new bauhaus.

[ bauhaus movement /// weimar/dessau germany ] the historical bauhaus is the most influential educational establishment in the fields of architecture, art and design. founded 1919 in weimar germany by architect walter gropius as a school that combined crafts and the fine arts, it was famous for an approach to design which it publicized and taught. the school closed in 1933 when the nazis came to power in germany.

the bauhaus can still be felt today, essentially characterizing the image of german design abroad. architects, designers and artists associated with the bauhaus include: alvar aalto, josef albers, herbert bayer, charles and ray eames, eileen gray, johannes itten, walter jacobsen, wassily kandinsky, paul klee, le corbusier, laszlo moholy-nagy, george nelson, isamu noguchi, eero saarinen, frank lloyd wright and mies van der rohe.

above> in 1907 belgian architect henry van de velde founded the school of arts and crafts in weimar germany / 1919 he invites walter gropius to move in who starts the state bauhaus

[ lászló moholy-nagy, a new bauhaus school /// chicago usa ] also known as moholy – a hungarian experimental artist, modernist, and former faculty at the parent bauhaus in dessau comes to chicago. in 1937, at the invitation of walter paepcke, the chairman of the container corporation of america, moholy-nagy, moved to chicago to become the director of the new bauhaus. the philosophy of the school was basically unchanged from that of the original.

unfortunately, the school lost its financial backing and it closed in 1938. paepcke continued his own support and in 1939, moholy-nagy opened the school of design. in 1944, the school became the institute of design. earlier in 1939, the institute of design became a part of illinois institute of technology and became the first institution in the united states to offer a phd in design.

below> moholy-nagy on the balcony of the prellerhaus in dessau / 1927 / courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art

[ the chicago design archive and chicago designer steve liska ] liska shares his thoughts with DesignApplause upon discovering his new office was once the home of moholy’s school…

[designapplause] for the past 30 years you have managed to create wonderful office spaces for yourself. your current space may be your best. how did you arrive at this location?

[steve liska] our lease was up, was grumbling about it to a client that just developed the 600 north fairbanks helmut jahn building. he said he had a tenant (the pritzker military library) moving out of his building and i should take a look. it was slightly scary.

[DA] what is your vision of your office spaces? what is your office supposed to do?

[SL] as brand designers- communication is critical. so have always appreciated an open, flexible, collaborative office. our office supports us and gives us a neutral environment to share ideas. and has good coffee.

[DA] what was involved / how did you arrive at the finished presentation of your space?

[SL] the building is almost 100 years old, very solid and concrete loft-like. my friends at gary lee partners helped us plan for all the previous tenant demo- we removed walls, office and lots of strange old equipment. then they helped configure the space, basically made it happen.

[DA] tell us about some back stories to this building.

[SL] it was built almost a 100 years ago as a bakery (the horn and hardart automat company). it has been a us post office, housed hugh hefner’s first playboy office, the chez paree nightclub in the 50s, home to joe sedelmaier, shel silverstein, dingbat’s disco (mr. t!) and of course the school of design. lots of history, stories and a few cool ghosts.

[DA] what did you know and what did you learn about moholy?

[SL] it took a while to learn about the school and moholy-nagy from our new landlord, but once we did- we were fanatics. he actually taught in what is now our space. we have a great old photo of a sculpture class in our office from the late 40s. i have always been a fan of everyone from the bauhaus, but the more i researched moholy-nagy – the more obsessed i became. such a renaissance man.

[DA] tell us about the facade presentation.

[SL] many years ago the building’s owners hired an artist to decorate the front of the building with a huge mural of moses. not sure why moses, but it was quirky and interesting. the building was undergoing surface repair- so moses was going to be painted over. we talked to our landlord about replacing it with something related to moholy-nagy and the school of design. we eventually found a little 2 1/4 inch square photo at moma that we thought was a good evolution from moses. our landlord agreed- they ended up hiring the same artist to paint the mural based on that photo. a year later- the traveling moholy-nagy show was announced.

the best part is watching all the tourists who take photos from across the street. they don’t exactly know what the mural is all about- and that is good.

[DA] is this your final location in a perfect world?

[SL] no that would be costa rica or paris. but for now- this is pretty good.

[DA] as long as we have you, what kind of things are you working on?

[SL] a lot of real estate work, some educational institution branding, and ongoing work for a lot of existing clients. (liska.com)

[DA] i’ve been to your offices many times and we have run into each other pitching work. i don’t recall you wearing anything but a white shirt and tie. and now that you’ve aged a bit you remind me of the design community in the late 60s early 70s. very serious looking. thoughts?

[SL] i’m glad you think i am serious looking. like most things in fashion- it comes back over and over again. i count on that. i do own 2 blue shirts. seriously.

[DA] want to say something we haven’t talked about?

[SL] no, done for now. have to go pick out tomorrow’s tie.

above> liska’s office on 610 north fairbanks today / a mural of moholy over the entrance

the chicago design archive (2002-present), is a permanent and exclusive online record of chicago-related experiential, graphic and product design. the mission statement is simple – to share the best of chicago design. originally hosting only graphic design, experiential and product design work is now being collected. the cda founding board recently added a graphic design advisory and a curatorial board. it goes without saying that this dedicated team feels the burden of preserving and growing the cda, afterall, it’s only chicago’s design heritage. we asked advisor, steve liska, if we could meet at his office. entering his office building we all notice the plaque below. we didn’t know…

above> steve liska

{ bauhaus dessau ] [ bauhaus movement ] [ moholy-nagy chicago design archive ] [the charnel-house / moholy-nagy ] [ liska + associates ]

below> video trailer of ‘moholy-nagy: future present’ produced by and exhibited in chicago in 2016. other usa venues included the guggenheim, and most recently lacma

“celebrate josef albers: exhibition & sale @ avery & dash collections.

Sep 19, 2017

featuring 75 signed albers lithographs archival framed using acid free materials and uv plexi-glass. the frames all 12 karat white gold leaf with ebonized walnut edges. prices range from $1490 – $7900.
avery & dash is hosting and coordinating this special show to provide accessibility to one of the most remarkable artists of the 20th century. the exhibition and sale seeks to educate the public and the trade on albers as well as highlight the resources available at the center.

the art can also be previewed and purchased online at: https://www.averydash.com/collections/josef-albers-collection

about josef albers:
josef albers, best known for his series “homage to the square” (1950s and ’60s) which focused on the simplification of form and the interplay of shape and color. “abstraction is real, probably more real than nature,” said albers. “i prefer to see with closed eyes.”

albers was also highly influential as a teacher, first at the bauhaus in germany alongside wassily kandinsky and paul klee, and later at black mountain college, yale, and harvard. his students included eva hesse, cy twombly, richard anuszkiewicz, and robert rauschenberg.

about avery & dash collections:
located in the ny metro area in stamford, ct, avery & dash collections offers nearly 2,000 years of antique and modern objects representing more than 150 periods and styles within its 22,000 square feet of highly curated and merchandized showrooms. the thirty plus dealers represented at avery & dash are equally as diverse as the objects they sell, hailing from the united kingdom, europe, china, the americas and beyond. avery & dash is open 10am to 5:30pm monday-saturday and on sunday from 12pm to 5pm, shopping online is available 24/7.

REK coffee table by reinier de jong.

Mar 7, 2012

click > enlarge

Not since Josef Alber’s brilliant Bauhaus-era nesting tables have I seen a similar design that does it better, and while nothing really tops Bauhaus for me, Rotterdam-based designer Reinier de Jong’s REK coffee table comes awfully close. Like Alber’s design, REK offers an elegant, space-saving solution. It’s three tables in one, which basically triples your available surfaces for when you have guests over. When company leaves, it tucks away neatly into a central cube-like shape.

“REK is a coffee table that grows with your coffee needs. When you have visitors, just get some chairs and extend the table any way you like. Built-in stops make sure you will not extend the sliding parts too far.

The top and two sides of REK are white HPL and the edges are finished with your choice of solid wood: oak, berch or beech. The end grain side of the wood is beveled in order to get a grip: A subtle detail. The dimensions of REK table obviously vary with its configuration: 60 by 80 cm in collapsed state, its maximum lenth is 170 cm and its maximum width is 130 cm.”

de Jong’s other furniture is surprisingly different, like the bright yellow, Beetlejuice-esque Volt table and the fire engine red Keer chair. He does offer one other design in the REK line, a bookcase that, like the coffee table, expands and folds away depending on how large your library is.