Blog Assignment 10

Past decades, even centuries have witnessed dramatic and subtle change throughout the design world. In the past design has been stripped back to the bare minimum to symbolise the rational, logical and moral following the idea that ‘less is more’. However design has more recently turned a page in the way we view modern art and critiques of the mid to late 19^th century have said ‘less is a bore’. The rational, geometrical ordered shapes and products that were being produced were too simplistic and had lost all character; therefore designers had to add these qualities back in to the modern look. In order for this change to take place our minds had to be ‘opened up’. This is where the ‘remix culture’ took off drawing inspiration from artists such as Bob Dylan who symbolised the rebel against the rational.

I believe the ‘Light up’ chair demonstrates a lot of the qualities which were being explored at the time using juxtaposition, scale manipulation and to a certain degree wit. Light up is a two in one chair and lamp that was inspired by deep sea creatures that catch their food with lights on their heads. Ontwerpers of Netherlands made this piece from a maintenance free fiber reinforced artificial resin body with steel reinforced construction. The joining of two very interesting but simple features together such as light, and seating is intriguing as Ontwerpers had used scale manipulation to do this. The overall aesthetics of this chair are very simplistic with the only ornamentation being the colour and texture of the resin adding a modernistic look, however to add post-modernistic qualities to this Ontwerpers has manipulated scale and played on the ideas of wit and irony.

Petty, M, M.(2011), Lecture 12 Postmodernism Remix, Victoria University, Te aro Campus

Blog Assignment 9

A major part in modern design is based around the way in which a company or product is branded.  A strong political message informs us that design in today’s society is very much connected to peoples lifestyle preferences and ideology. Political and ideological issues are often very controversial and are usually seen as one sided, based around a certain societies welfare. In aiming an advert at a population of people this is a company’s way of creating a ‘symbolic universe’ which we have covered in past lectures.

I believe the advert we have seen on TV promoting Heineken is a great example of a company which has targeted a wider population and given a strong ideological message. In the advert we see a group of women who are excited to see a friends wardrobe, when they enter they are overwhelmed with the sound from a room on the other side of the wall. The sound comes from a group of fully grown men who are in fits of excitement when they see a ‘man’s wardrobe’ filled with beer. I think this type of advertisement is both witty, and creative in the way it is able to draw the attention of a wide variety of people, as a large population are able to relate to this. We may not admit to it but when we watch an advert or campaign like this, we want to be ‘in their shoes’ as we can see how happy they are. Therefore I believe this advert for Heineken has created and used ideology to large extent and are successful in the way they make you believe there is happiness through their beer.

Blog Assignment 8

In this week’s reading, David Raizman’s history of modern design ‘The first Machine Age in Europe’, Hannes Meyer argued that all design is a product of ‘function x-economy’. Meyer closely aligned design alongside scientific models driven by newly discovered technologies and manufacturing potential communicating the idea that in order to further design, an equation must be added. He strongly argued that without an equation design is not rational and therefore not accurate. With the introduction of this theory we saw ornamentation take a back seat in the roles it plays in modern design, and a minimalistic style take over. Design was made more efficient by reducing labour, time and money spent.

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, from the Bauhaus school of design states “The reality of our century is technology, the invention, construction and maintenance of machines. To be a user of machines is to be of the spirit of this century. Machines have replaced the transcendental spiritualism of past eras.” Clearly showing the direction in which he wishes to lead the Bauhaus in. He realised that in order to push deisgn further we needed technology which will allow mass production in a modern world where there is a higher demand for the masses, and also to allow designers to expand and not limit what could produced by hand.

I both agree and disagree with Moholy-Nagy as I do believe designing for the masses is critical in our modern world, however I also think it is sad to see this happen and aura is lost. With technology comes mass production, with mass production we lose what is authentic in our world. As science and design may be linked together, I believe in order to create successful design, the need for and equation is not necessary. What I do think is necessary however is thought, creativity and the ability to design anything, after all it is what is in our minds that the world wants to see. Such work from kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen inspires me through his thoughts and ideas "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." This is what I believe true design is, it is a thought process and a visual concept coming to life. Not an equation set of rules or guidelines which restrict and limit what we are able to create.

Raizman, D. (1927). The First Machine Age in Europe. Massachusetts: MIT Publishers.

Blog Assignment 7

Symbolic Universe.

From this week’s lecture and reading I have come to develop my understanding of the idea’s and theories behind a ‘Symbolic Universe’.  My knowledge allows me to portray a symbolic universe as a way of creating a sense of importance and significance in the activities of everyday life, and the products which surround us. In this day and age we are subdued to all kinds of ‘Symbolic Universes’ where we, the consumers are more often than not drawn into the appealing side of products, goods and services. We naturally make assumptions that lead us to making decisions that see us buy products which look the best or cost the most.

The idea behind a ‘Symbolic Universe’ was displayed effectively during the World’s Fairs (Chicago, 1893 and New York, 1901)  where the social world was able to see the technology and advanced spaces first hand. The fairs allowed people to see “architectural creations” which would create a sense of importance and hope that one day these luxuries would be realities. However I feel one company promotes their product a similar way.  As I thought of a symbolic universe, mini’s branding scheme came to mind. The way that they promote their automobile line definitely communicates the ideas of a symbolic universe as they make their cars look and sound like the ‘best’ car around. One advert in particular displays this, when a single car splits into several and takes various journeys through a small village. This is very effective, and I personally love this add however it is completely wrong and false as this is impossible. What Mini are trying to do is create a ‘Perfect world’ through their ‘perfect car’ through showing us, the customers that this is the car to purchase if you want to look and feel like this. 

Petty, M, M.(2011), Lecture - Symbolic Universe, Victoria University, Te aro Campus

Kihlstedt, F. (1986). Utopia Realized: The World’s Fairs of the 1930s in Imagining Tomorrow: History Technology, and the American Future (pp.97-118).

Blog Assignment 6

Walter Benjamin believed that asking for the authentic or original copy of something makes no sense in an era which is surrounded by digital media and technology. Benjamin believed that authenticity comes with an original object or work which has either been hand crafted or remains the original copy. Alongside this authenticity comes aura. Aura is a quality which means an object is unique in its time and place, once something has been created more than once or on a bigger scale, mass produced, aura is automatically lost.

An example of aura is Donatello’s statue of David. This is a perfect example of authenticity in Benjamin’s case as the original statue was made in the early 1440s out of bronze and stood to uphold a sense of importance as it is known as the the centerpiece of the first courtyard in the Palazzo Medici during the wedding festivities of Lorenzo de' Medici and Clarice Orsini in 1469. However now there are more versions of this statue which caused concern about the aura, and authenticity of the original piece. Benjamin’s argument in “The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction” is that once a duplicate, or copy of an object is made, aura is lost. The idea of having something totally unique has disappeared and is replaced with un-authentic, or ‘fake’ work.

I do agree with Benjamin’s argument. I believe that in this day and age, with todays technology, finding an original piece of art is not as important as it once would have been. It is far easier to reproduce the same work for a fraction of the price and time. In an era of digital design and manufacturing I think the ability to have an authentic piece of work will diminish more and more, and as we look for ways to create our own ‘aura’ I believe it will be important for designers and artists to limit reproduction of work to hold on to some sort of authenticity. As Benjamin states, ‘That which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art’.

Blog Assignment 5

“Colours of the mind”

How has the experience and experimentation of artist influenced our understanding of colour and the development of a theory of ‘colour vision’?

I believe that experimentation with colour by artists has definitely influenced the modern design world though centuries of experience and scientific theory with ‘colour vision’. The first stages of understanding colour came through Newton’s discovery of the ‘colour spectrum’ in 1704 (Petty,M.M, 2011). From this came the ‘colour wheel’ from opticks also developed in 1704. Newton’s theory lasted over 200 years and is still largely present in todays art theories.

However there was an opposition to Newton’s theory, this was made by Johann Geothe, a German scientist who was interested by ‘after image’ the theory that images are internally imprinted in the mind. Alongside Geothe’s theory, was the idea of simultaneous contrast. Developed by Michel Chevreui, this was when two identical colours placed on different coloured backgrounds would appear as dissimilar as possible. It was around this time that art would change and the way the world viewed art completely reformed. Traditional art was starting to be broken apart as abstraction of objects took over. Artists such as Kandinsky and British painter J.W.M Turner turned true paintings and representations into abstracted work and displayed the emotions within what the artist felt. This is shown in Turners paintings ‘shade and darkness- the evening of the deluge’ 1843, and ‘light and colour- the morning after the deluge’ 1843, (slide 17 in lecture) where there are no clear objects in these paintings, instead colour is the main focus in showing emotion and movement in these paintings. 

The theories that came from these artists above are connected with todays art and design, in the way colour is used to evoke emotion and as a result of these artists, future art has no boundaries or restrictions.

Petty, M, M.( 2011), Lecture 5 Colour, perception, and Abstraction, Victoria University ,Te aro Campus.

Blog Assignment 4

In 1908, Austrian architect Adolf Loos argued that “The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use.”

Loos believed that in order for society to become civilised, the ideas and theories behind ornamentation needed to be erased from current design. His idea was that an object which was designed based around ornamentation showed savagery in society. Instead design should be un-ornamented which would display purity and civilisation within society. 

Personally, I agree with Loos that it was inevitable that eventually the evolution of culture would shape design and the way modern designers would change their focus to creating form rather than designing pattern. Modern day design shows a strong and distinct connection between a minimalistic aesthetic and the creation of bare and true structures as opposed to ornamentation on a large scale.  As quoted by Loos, “The absence of ornament has raised the other arts to unknown heights.” There was no longer the complication of seductive design in a way which misleads the viewer into becoming emotionally connected through overpowering ornamentation, instead pure and true forms were created and we changed our focus to viewing beauty as purity, not false representation.

Mies van de Rohe is a great example of a designer who adapted these techniques and methods but added his own opinions in his designs, such as the Barcelona Pavilion, Spain, 1929 (slide 29 in lecture). Rohe uses a subtle pattern on the wall inside a very clean geometric building, although this is may not be totally bare, Rohe’s intentions were very much similar to those of Loos in the way that these materials speak for themselves, and do not display false representation, or as Loos would say “a waste of material and a waste of labour.”