While much of the Northern Hemisphere clenched its collective teeth through yet another week of bitter cold, the end of February was a rather multifaceted celebration of art and design in South Africa when Design Indaba, World Design Capital 2014 events, the Cape Town Art Fair, and the Guild Design Fair converged in Cape Town (surely not by coincidence, as 2014 also marks the 20th anniversary of the nation’s independence). The latter event was organized by the same folks behind Southern Guild, who made a strong showing at the very first Collective Design Fair last May, and like the NYC event, Guild skewed toward the Design Miami crowd. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—I wish I’d had more time to explore the eclectic offerings on view (not that the multi-building venue was that big anyhow).
Nacho Carbonell exhibition in the courtyard
Instead, I chanced upon an exhibitor whose mission is precisely to engage the Cape Town design community and public at large in a meaningful way. I recognized Daniel Charny immediately—I posted a video of his talk from Design Indaba 2013 just a few days prior—and he proudly gave me a tour of the Maker Library at Guild.
As its name suggests, it’s a variation on a makerspace, a community hub that serves as a library-like resource for designers even as it transcends the scope of a mere repository of information. Rather, the Maker Library is designed to be a workshop and studio as much as it is a gallery, and the ‘Librarian in Residence’—Heath Nash, in the case of Guild—is not only a knowledgeable administrator but a well-connected member of the local design community.
The Maker Library initiative finds its origins in the British Council, an organization is tasked with “educational opportunities and cultural relations” around the world. This year sees a focus on South Africa: As 2014 sees the nation enter its second decade of independence, so too is the first generation of “born-frees” on the cusp of adulthood, and an arts program called Connect ZA (sometimes styled as “Connect/ZA”; pronounced “Connect Zed-A,” per the local flavor) is intended to meet them halfway.
Although the exhibition closed on March 9 along with the rest of the Guild Design Fair, the British Council / ConnectZA have posted an open call for other Maker Libraries in South Africa; applications are due on April 4. Here is a selection of the work from the Maker Library at Guild, which Charny organized with V&A curator Jana Scholze:
Writer Nancy Lazarus heads to the Far East without leaving Manhattan as she takes in the sixth annual Asia Week and offers up five highlights.
Kaneko Toru’s Blue Rust #1 (2009) is on view during Asia Week at Lesley Kehoe Galleries.
Spring marks the arrival of Asia Week New York. The nine-day event (March 14-22), a marathon of 47 gallery shows and 19 auction sales, along with museum exhibitions and special events, offers the opportunity to admire a wealth of ancient and modern treasures. We’ve picked five exhibits where the themes, settings, timeless works, contemporary pieces, or unique techniques reward close looking. They’re listed by location, starting in midtown.
Lesley Kehoe Galleries (Melbourne, Australia-based gallery specializing in Japanese art; has Asia Week gallery space in Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street, 5th floor) The Transcendent Spirit, a special Asia Week exhibit, highlights works of seven Japanese artists. Owner Lesley Kehoe believes “there’s not another culture with the patience and self-discipline to master these complex techniques.” Mitsuo Shoji creates paintings, calligraphy, and objects. He’s inspired by Buddhist chanting and fascinated with fire, using traditional Japanese foils to fire canvases. Kaneko Toru and Kidera Yuko specialize in metalworks. Yoku hammers flat metal sheets to create spirited female forms of dance and song. Toru uses copper oxide and enameled metals to craft colorful tin-plated decorative vessels with exotic textures.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries (specializes in Chinese art; 730 Fifth Avenue at 57th Street, Crown Building, 12th floor) For Asia Week, the oldest U.S. firm dealing in Chinese art is focusing on porcelain, silver sculpture, root carvings, and a collection of 20 snuff bottles dating from the 18th-20th centuries. Though miniature in size, the bottles were quite eye-catching, especially given the variety of animal and botanical motifs, shapes, and design types. Some were inlaid, while others were carved, painted, or embellished. Among the gemstones were lapis, jasper, jade, rhodonite, and moss agate. A stopper in a matching or contrasting color sat atop each bottle. continued…
Intrepid blue-smocked street photographer Bill Cunningham turned 85 yesterday, and the New York Historical Society marked the occasion with a press preview of an exhibit of his photographs. We dispatched writer Nancy Lazarus—via bicycle, of course—to take in the architectural riches and fashion history of New York through Cunningham’s lens. The show opens to the public today.
(All photos courtesy New York Historical Society)
While his images don’t depict biblical times, Bill Cunningham did delve back to the Civil War, Victorian era, and Gilded Age for his eight-year-long project, Facades. From 1968-1976, the New York Times photographer who documented social, architecture, and fashion trends collected over 500 outfits and shot more than 1,800 locations around New York City. Editta Sherman, his friend, neighbor and fellow photographer, served as project collaborator and frequent subject.
Cunningham donated 88 black-and-white images from his photo essay to the New York Historical Society in 1976, and 80 gelatin silver prints and enlarged images are on display through June 15. Valerie Paley, NYHS historian and vice president for scholarly programs, curated the exhibit, and she said assistant curator Lilly Tuttle, found the photos in the museum’s archives. “We have so many undiscovered treasures, and we’re delighted to rediscover them,” said Paley.
Although Cunningham wasn’t on hand for yesterday’s preview, Paley said he was enthusiastic about the exhibit and had pitched in to locate details of specific photos. Many of his quotes accompany the exhibit highlights. The display is arranged by historic era, and additional photos in the collection are projected onto the walls of the museum’s side entrance rotunda. continued…
Furniture by prolific Danish Modernist designer Hans J. Wegner will go on display at Copenhagen‘s design museum next month, marking the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth.
CH24 The Wishbone Chair, 1949, produced by Carl Hansen and Son (also main image)
The Just One Good Chair exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark will showcase a retrospective of work by Hans J. Wegner, who designed over 1500 chairs and other furniture pieces before he passed away in 2007.
Pp550 The Peacock Chair, 1947
“If only you could design just one good chair in your life… But you simply cannot,” Wegner was quoted saying in 1952.
PP550 The Peacock Chair, 1947
The exhibition will tell the story of his life and work, using over 150 pieces of his furniture alongside drawings, photos and models.
PP250 The Valet Chair, 1953
“I’d say he’s the most important Danish designer ever,” the exhibition’s curator Christian Holmsted Olesen told Dezeen. “The reason for that is that he developed this new organic Modernism, which became so popular especially in the US in the 1950s and 1960s.”
PP250 The Valet Chair, 1953
His most recognisable designs including the Wishbone Chair – named after the shape of its back support – and the bent plywood Shell Chair endured the Postmodern era, and remain as popular today as they were when they were first issued.
PP19 The Teddy Bear Chair, 1951
“During the 1980s the Postmodernists were criticising the Modernist design because it was boring, too rational, too anonymous,” Holmsted Olesen said. “Wegner’s design is never boring – it’s full of fantasy, it’s very poetic and it’s very human in its approach. It still is very rational and everything can be explained about the way it is constructed.”
PP19 The Teddy Bear Chair, 1951
Wegner trained as a cabinet maker before studying at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts under Kaare Klint, the so-called Father of Danish Design.
PP502 The Swivel Chair, 1955
Wegner was soon commissioned to design furniture for Copenhagen brands such as Rud Rasmussen.
PP502 The Swivel Chair, 1955
He spent hours measuring chairs from other cultures, especially Chinese, so he could prefect the shapes in his own pieces. “He was inspired by historical typologies and the idea of refining things from the past,”explained Holmsted Olesen.
PP502 The Swivel Chair, 1955
In 1949, Americans visiting an exhibition of Danish furniture that included Wegner’s work saw one of his seats and named it “The Chair,” as they considered it perfect.
PP512 The Folding Chair, 1949
“Everyone had given up on craft all over the world and in the US there was a craft revival just after the Second World War, because everyone had seen what disaster the industrial development had created,” said Holmsted Olesen.
PP225 The Flag Halyard Chair, 1950, also main image
“Denmark really had something good at that time to present to the whole world and Hans Wenger was very good at designing in these organic forms,” he continued. “The international modernist movement, which came from Central Europe and the Bauhaus, had developed into more organic forms in architecture. But there was very little organic furniture design and he was one of the only designers doing this, so that’s why he came so popular in the 1950s and 1960s.”
PP56/PP66 The Chinese Chair, 1945
The exhibition will also include prototypes that are previously undisplayed, such a lounge chair that Wegner kept in his own home and was used solely by his wife.
PP56/PP66 The Chinese Chair, 1945
Wegner’s furniture is currently produced by three Danish firms – Carl Hansen & Son, PP Mobler and Fritz Hansen – using the same traditional craft techniques as in the 1950s and 1960s.
The exhibition opens on 3 April and will continue until 2 November.
Here’s some more text sent to us by the museum:
Wegner – Just One Good Chair
Designmuseum Danmark marks the 100-year anniversary of Hans J. Wegner’s birth with a large exhibition, opening 3 April 2014.
“If only you could design just one good chair in your life . . . But you simply cannot” – Hans J. Wegner, 1952.
Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) was one of history’s most prolific designers. In 1949 he created the design that the Americans called The Chair. The perfect chair – but he continued designing new ones nonetheless, producing a total of over 500. He was referred to as The King of Chairs – or just the Chair Maker. His furniture paved the way for Danish Design’s international breakthrough in the years after World War II, and he was to become a leading figure in Organic Modernism.
PP58/PP68 The Ultimate Chair, 1987
A poetic take on modernism
Wegner’s work always took its starting point in craftsmanship, and he produced nearly all of his own prototypes in the workshop. His life is best understood as an enduring mission to understand the logic and the potential of wood. He showed the modern world that the old virtues of craftsmanship, such as sensuality, beautiful detailing and the use of natural materials, also have a place in the modern industrialised world. Wegner’s approach to design was neither retrospective nor romantic, but his furniture was nevertheless full of poetry – which is why his designs, despite the fact that they are wholly rational and grounded in functionality, have remained popular right up to the present day, even escaping criticism from the postmodernists. In our late postmodern times, Wegner in many ways represents a more human route into modernism.
PP58/PP68 The Ultimate Chair, 1987
A cornerstone in Danish design
The exhibition tells the story of Wegner’s life and career, showing more than 150 of his major original works from the time, drawings, photos and models, exploring Wegner’s working methods and vast oeuvre. It is also possible to try out and touch over 50 newly produced Wegner-pieces in the exhibition. Along with film and furniture, by some of his contemporaries, like Charles & Ray Eames, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen and Mies van der Rohe, the exhibition shows how the finest wooden furniture is made.
Wegner’s work was the product of the Danish Furniture School – while also representing a break with it because of his free, artistic mode of expression. Founded by Professor Kaare Klint in the 1920s, The Danish Furniture School set out to build on traditions. Historic furniture from different cultures and eras, from Designmuseum Danmarks’s collection, was studied, refined, and adapted to contemporary needs. A hallmark of Danish design is the desire to perfect the very best work found in other cultures and eras. The history of Danish design is like the history of Danish politics – defined not by revolution, but by evolution. This pragmatic, humanistic and democratic thinking is seen throughout every aspect of Danish society, and it is in this context that the characteristically clean lines of Danish products should be understood.
PP503 The Chair, 1949
Traditionalist and modernist
Wegner worked his whole life towards improving old Chinese and English chairs, along with new, modernist furniture; and towards simplifying and beautifying them, in order to enhance their artistic expression, while also making them more suitable for industrial or mass production. The majority of his most ground-breaking ideas were presented at the annual Joiners’ Guild Exhibition at the Designmuseum Denmark. It’s at these exhibitions that Americans came to see the quality of Danish furniture art, and began to write about it. What was special about Wegner, as a Danish designer, was his ability to develop classic design ideals into something completely new, often finding inspiration in centuries-old handcrafts. With his organic shapes, inspired by ancient tools such as axe-handles and oars, Wegner made his impact on the artistic movement of the time: Organic Modernism.
The exhibition tells the story of how and why Wegner and Danish design made such an impression in the 1950s throughout America and the rest of the world. What makes Danish design special in relation to German, American and Italian design, for instance? And why is Danish design, and Wegner’s in particular, so popular in Asia today, serving as a model for so many of the greatest designers of our time – such as Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukasawa, Tadeo Ando and Konstantin Grcic. The exhibition shows not only Wegner’s work, but also some of the most significant post-war Danish and international designers; works of historical inspiration from the Designmuseum Danmark’s collection; and also current international work, inspired by Danish design.
PP501 The Chair, 1949
The exhibition is shown from the 3 April 2014 to 2 November 2014 and is accompanied by a richly illustrated book on Wegner’s work, published in Danish by Strandberg Publishing and in English and German by Hatje Cantz Verlag.
The museum, Kunstmuseet i Tønder, also celebrates Hans J. Wegner with an exhibition. For more information please go go: museum-sonderjylland.dk.
Objects designed to support political activism including a graffiti-writing robot and a giant inflatable cobblestone made to be thrown at police will form the focus of an exhibition opening this summer at London‘s V&A museum.
Coral Stoakes, I wish my boyfriend was as dirty as your policies. Image courtesy of the V&A Museum. Main image: Inflatable cobblestone, action of Eclectic Electric Collective during the General Strike in Barcelona. Image courtesy of Oriana Eliçabe/Enmedio.info
Disobedient Objects will open at the V&A on 26 July and will be the first exhibition to present innovative examples of art and design developed by countercultures to communicate political messages or facilitate protests.
Occupy London Stock Exchange, Capitalism is Crisis banner. Image courtesy of Immo Klink
“Social movement cultures aren’t normally collected by museums, with the exception of prints and posters,” the exhibition’s co-curator Gavin Grindon told Dezeen. “We wanted to raise the question of this absence of other kinds of disobedient objects in the museum.”
The Zapatista Revolution, The Zapatista, Mexico. Image courtesy of the V&A Museum
The objects that will be exhibited were created by non-professional designers, mostly using craft methods or adhoc manufacturing processes.
These include a variety of dolls, masks and puppets such as the tableau created by American group, The Bread and Puppet Theatre, which was used in protests against the first Gulf War.
The Bread and Puppet Theatre, Tableau of three puppets. Photograph by Jonathan Slaff
Craft skills such as sewing will be represented by items including hand-stitched textiles from Chile that document political violence and a banner created for the Unite union in the UK.
Painted banners and placards featuring humorous or evocative slogans have also been selected.
Chilean Arpilleras wall hanging: Dónde están nuestros hijos, Chile Roberta Bacic’s collection. Photograph by Martin Melaugh
Grindon, who is an academic specialising in the history of activist art and current research fellow at the V&A, participated in activist movements and organised workshops with protesters to find out which objects would be most suitable for the exhibition.
Banner for UNITE the union at the march in support of the NHS in Manchester. Photography by Ed Hall
“The show is about existing design so it made sense to use a documentary approach to find examples of things that have actually been made,” Grindon explained. “None of this stuff is professionally designed, it’s just happening in the public sphere in various ways.”
L J Roberts, Gaybashers, Come and Get It, USA. Image courtesy of Blanca Garcia
Other objects set to feature in the show include a shiny inflatable cobblestone thrown at police by Spanish protestors in 2012 as a harmless version of a weapon traditionally used by rioters.
A robot called Graffiti Writer that paints slogans on road surfaces illustrates a more high-tech approach to creating protest tools.
Graffiti Writer (Robot for writing street graffiti). Image courtesty of the Institute for Applied Autonomy, USA
Spanning a period from the 1970s to the present day, the exhibition will include newspaper cuttings, how-to guides and film content to provide additional levels of context.
One specially commissioned film will document the evolution of “lock-on” devices used by protesters to attach themselves to objects or blockade sites.
Guerrilla Girls. Image courtesy of George Lange
Objects and imagery will be displayed alongside a text from the curators as well as explanations from the activists about how they came up with the ideas and how they were used.
Bone china with transfers printed in green, bearing the emblem of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Image courtesy of V&A Museum
“What we’d like people to take away from the exhibition is the idea that design isn’t always about professional practice – it’s something that people can get involved in themselves,” said Grindon. “The actors changing the world are doing so using something that they have in their hands already.”
Occupy George overprinted dollar bill. Image courtesy of Andy Dao and Ivan Cash
The Design Museum will host the exhibition of shortlisted projects for its annual Designs of the Year awards, which honour exemplary projects completed in the past year.
A selection of the 76 projects nominated for the Design of the Year title will be displayed, including a mobile phone you can build yourself and a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon.
Dezeen readers can also receive 25 percent off the admission price when booking online and using the code DEZ25 under the Dezeen Special Offer.
Competition closes 9 April 2014. Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeen Mail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.
Lego Calendar designed by Adrian Westaway, Clara Gaggero, Duncan Fitzsimons, Simon Emberton. Photograph by Adrian Westaway
Here’s some more information from the Design Museum:
Five pairs of tickets to see Designs of the Year 2014 at the Design Museum
Now in its seventh year, Designs of the Year gathers together a year of cutting-edge innovation and original talent; showcasing the very best in global Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphic, Product and Transport design.
Chineasy created by ShaoLan Hsueh with Illustrations by Noma Bar. Photograph by Brave New World
Featuring Kate Moss’s favourite app, a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon, friendly lamp posts, a mobile phone you can build yourself and many others, Designs of the Year 2014 include international design stars such as Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield and Miuccia Prada, alongside crowd-funded start ups and student projects.
ME.WE: Forward-Thinking Car designed by Massaud & Toyota ED2. Photograph Small Dots
This not to be missed exhibition is a clear reflection of everything that is current and exciting in the world. Someday the other museums will be showing this stuff.
The Gourmand: A Food and Culture Journal created by David Lane (Creative Director), Marina Tweed and David Lane (Founders/Editors-in-chief). Photograph courtesy of The Gourmand
As a Dezeen reader, you can also receive 25% off regular admission price when pre-booking here and using code DEZ25 under the Dezeen Special Offer.
Dita von Tease in A Magazine Curated By Stephan Jones illustrated by David Downton
About three months ago, we were interested to learn that Kiel Mead, co-founder of American Design Club and friend of Core, had taken a leadership role at Fab.com. As the Executive Vice President of Design, Mead is looking to spearhead new initiatives to support designers through Fab as a global online platform. Here he presents his first project, “First Things First,” a call for entries for NYCxDesign, in his own words.
Fab Submit is a new initiative at Fab that stems from our longstanding goal of discovering and promoting the work of designers at all stages of their careers. Fab Submit is an open door for designers to present their designs to us, with the very real potential to have Fab produce and sell their work. The intent of our first call is to inspire new design with an intentionally broad brief. “First Things First: Finding Inspiration In A Fresh Start” is a prompt that we think will get the wheels turning for designers to take pen, pencil or indigo blue Prismacolor to paper.
My career before Fab was all about supporting designers and finding new and interesting ways to show, share and sell their work. For the past several years I have helped to foster an ever growing community of designers through my work with the American Design Club. Now I can pair those resources and that camaraderie with the expansive reach and established platform of Fab. One of the best things about Fab is how much this company wants to discover new and exciting work from designers at any level of their careers. Through programs like Fab Submit, we will discover great new designs and amazing new talents.
The unofficial French ambassador happens to be a trusted messenger for the cultural powerhouses—museums such as the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, publishers such as Éditions de La Martinière and Robert Laffont and luxury brands such as Hermès and Yves Saint Laurent. His brilliance…
Japanese magazine +81 is pleased to present Graphic Passport 2014in New York City, featuring two exhibitions—one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn—and a presentation at NYU’s Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center this Friday, March 14. Now in its fifth year, the biannual celebration of Japanese creative culture has established itself as a well-curated showcase of emerging designers and has visited global destinations from Paris to Sao Paulo to Mumbai; following the New York show, the 2014 edition will make its way to Bangkok in late April.
The event kicks off tomorrow evening with the opening reception for a group exhibition at the +81 gallery space in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Starting on Wednesday, March 12, the space will feature Tokyo Graphic Posters, a wildly successful exhibition that launched in 2011; Takeo Paper Show 2008, Fine Papers by “School of Design”; and Tohoku Standard.
Yuni Yoshida
On Friday, March 14, the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center at NYU will host a triple-header of Japanese designers: art director Yuni Yoshida, digital ad wizard Koichiro Tanaka and filmmaker/photographer Seiichi Hishikawa. Given the quality of their work, this promises to be an enlightening evening indeed.
Last but not least, Saturday, March 15, will see the opening of a group exhibition at the +81 Gallery at 167 Elizabeth Street in Manhattan, where work by Shun Kawakami, Gen Miyamura and Syoh Yoshida will be on view. Again, this looks like it will be a very respectable showing from some of Japan’s leading young artists and designers.
Seiichi Hishikawa
Both the Brooklyn and Manhattan exhibitions will be open until April 25, from noon until 7pm daily. More details are available on the Graphic Passport New York and +81 websites.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Nacho Carbonell exhibition in the courtyard
While his images don’t depict biblical times, Bill Cunningham did delve back to the Civil War, Victorian era, and Gilded Age for his eight-year-long project, Facades. From 1968-1976, the New York Times photographer who documented social, architecture, and fashion trends collected over 500 outfits and shot more than 1,800 locations around New York City. Editta Sherman, his friend, neighbor and fellow photographer, served as project collaborator and frequent subject.
Still from “
Yuni Yoshida
Seiichi Hishikawa