Object Lab Day 1

Today was the first day of the Chipstone Foundation's Object Lab!

I've been able to have the opportunity to go to Milwaukee and study objects, such as decorative arts like furniture and ceramics, and art curation and history with a group of other students from all over the country. Today, I was sent by train to the Milwaukee Art Museum and grabbed my camera and started to take photos:

Getting off the train...

And to the museum!

When we first arrived, we read and discussed the poem "A Sort of Song" by William Carlos Williams

Let the snake wait under

his weed

and the writing

be of words, slow and quick, sharp

to strike, quiet to wait,

sleepless.

-- through metaphor to reconcile

the people and the stones.

Compose. (No ideas

but in things) Invent!

Saxifrage is my flower that splits

the rocks. 

We began to tour the museum, first to see the Chipstone Exhibit Space

The first thing we found about the Chipstone Exhibit was that all these chairs were out on the floor to sit in!

See any famous chairs? (designers, you can pick them out.. right?) What was really cool about this is they had us all sit in them..

We then talked about how they felt to sit in, and what each meant to that person as they experienced the chair. Mine (the white lounge chair of course) felt "springy"and made me think it was somewhat risky.

These we decided were somewhat oppressive chairs, only the one on the right was more like a Dwarf King's chair than an Emperor's throne because of how quirky it was.

We then talked about this pot.. 

which was made by a slave named Dave from the old plantation days! Not only was that bit of history cool, but he also was a crazy genius with poetry, and knew that the stories he wrote in the poems on his pots would matter someday later in the future...

We then went into this exhibit that creatively teaches us about the original museum: the Cabinet of Curiosity

This cabinet was reflecting its foliage virtues, basically how a cabinet comes from nature

Here the cabinet seems to imitate nature...

We noticed that the feet really give that away (not to mention how it looks like these animals are hanging around a tree)

Doesn't that look like a tree? From a Hitchock movie or something...  but what was really intriguing was that those animals were all taxidermy...

That whole taxidermy thing made us think more about cabinets...

Because then with this last one we figured out that the Cabinets of Curiosity were ways for humans to fit their role between creation and the divine by studying it and sharing it with others. (That may sound outdated...but thats another discussion, it also fits in with the era these existed) This really helps to reflect on our call to wonder and fascinate on the world around us, and how we've done it in the past! Look how this piece of furniture even looks like the one with all the birds on it, only these are real wood. 

That made me think about ornamentation and why it exists...

Anyways, we move on and look at other objects in the exhibit

And find a human-like chair, with arms and legs as explicit as you can get,

and this was all part of an exhibit that tells the human relationship stories of furniture pieces

which had mythology uncovered in its tables (these were owned by bankers and businessmen-symbolizing strength and stability with griffins and so on)

Then came the display that made me think the most: the narrative of death found in puritan era furniture. What I thought was so amazing was that these puritan age people were so accustomed to the idea of death that they didn't mind living with furniture pieces that specifically reminded them of it! What was interesting is that this topic is suppressed in our modern time, but it seems to have been embraced, and even emphasized back then. Some people said it was because puritans were always sick and were very serious, but I'd say that they also had a strong anticipation for the "new heavens and new earth" that was to come after their lives on earth was done. It all has to do with how since Christians are saved by Christ, they aren't afraid of death and actually look forward to it because they'll be finally with Christ and away from all the sickness and pain of the world.

That was a really cool discovery today.

This was a cool curvy chair

And this was a really great glass exhibit that I thought was such a perfect contrast to the medieval riches surrounding it

This was exciting...made of felt!

amazing abstracts...

Then we talked about it all! We also discussed in depth thoughts about the success of exhibits, curation,  museums and other arts and culture things. It was so interesting to find out that museums (after the cabinet of curiosity) were used by governments to instruct the country of the standards of living. Basically the idea of being quiet in museums came from the 19th century high standard of conduct, and all the subject matter was of art and artifacts that established cultural values and ideals. At least this is to the best of my knowledge from our discussion.

Then we went to dinner!

More posts to come, tomorrow will be jam packed with new and amazing things!

The Language of Things - Final Reading Notes

Throughout his book, The Language of Things, Deyan Sudjic visits many interesting aspects of how everyday objects have a hold in the world. He began by explaining the different experiences through designers and movements in design, from Raymond Loewy to Philippe Starck. Though each hot shot designer has seemed to give the world an opinion about what design should really be, designers mainly can only provide different opinions instead of absolute truth. Through his first section on Language, I discovered that the world of design is driven by many different ideas, and each idea has value in an ever-changing world of product consumption. In this first chapter, what I found interesting was how those ideas can work well as language. Each form has a different linguistic property that communicates different ideas and perspectives. Sudjic writes: 

“...You might look at the Soviet and American space capsules that docked in Earth orbit, and which now hang in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, and see two different national mentalities rendered in physical form. They are two objects designed to do exactly the same thing, in the most extreme of conditions. And yet they look utterly different, and reflect with shattering clarity two utterly different political and economic systems. One looks as sleek as a Harley Earl limousine, the other seems to belong in the world of Jules Verne, of brass portholes and mahogany fittings.” (Sudjic, 42)

In his next chapter, Sudjic explores the phenomenon of archetypes in design. These are objects that would be considered as the “quintessential work lamp” or “ultimate safari vehicle.” Archetypes have an identity that define their category. If one looks at a box of tissues, many societies will address that box a “box of Kleenex” because it has become an archetype of disposable tissues. The chapter talks about how these archetype languages impact a product’s emotional connection. Because the Anglepoise lamp is known as “The Work Lamp,” it has an emotional engagement revolving around work. “To switch on an Anglepoise and move it into position is, both literally and metaphorically, to suggest that you have started to work. It is like opening the shutters of a shop, or raising a curtain in a theatre. All the senses are involved, sound as well as touch. The click of the switch is like putting up a ‘Do not disturb’ sign.” (Sudjic, 56).

Then Sudjic spends time explaining Luxury and how high society has defined itself first through employing craftsman and artisans to acquire possessions, and now has evolved into a modern style of consumption. The language of much craft luxury has been that a wealthy person had the money to have someone skilled and valuable make their things. Their things would be incredibly valuable, because the level of quality and artistry they had were far more costly than what any normal person could afford. However, now in our modern industrialized society, the level of quality and artistry has become greatly democratized because of mass production, so luxury has had to define itself in different ways. Sudjic says “Contemporary luxury depends on finding new things to do that are difficult. Ii can be using more of a material than is strictly necessary... Before the newest technologies made complex forms easy to make on the production line, luxury cars came with curves that were difficult to form in metal, and cheaper models tended to have boxier silhouettes, or simpler curves: the difference between the original Citroen 2CV and the complex multiple curves of a contemporary Maserati.” (Sudjic 120).

As he explains the different examples of how luxury has changed in society, it becomes evident that luxury comes down to spending more money than others. This can be a very useless thing to some, but in other realms of society, it is an important aspect of their lives. Sudjic closes his chapter saying “Luxury in our times revolves more and more about the details that persuade consumers to spend money. But another definition of luxury - one that is closer to its original meaning - may prove increasingly pertinent. IT sees luxury as the way to provide a sense of respite from the relentless tide of possessions that threatens to overwhelm us.” (Sudjic 129). So, basically it comes down to special-ness.

The last two chapters in his book are on Fashion and Art. These both were extremely revealing, in that many designers hope to be artists, and both fashion and art have a powerful status in the world. As Sudjic puts it, fashion, which began as a craft and now has turned into an industry, uses image and art to create business. It does not have a set format of rules, as the old perception of luxury had when it appreciated fine craftsmanship, but it constantly changes its rules in order to make business. Fashion does not only make money, but it also defines social statuses. “If fashion is about defining those who belong and those who don’t” Sudjic writes “then so is a uniform.” (156). Uniforms define the character an army or police force wishes to convey. Just as the Marines have a dress uniform and a camouflage uniform to define different situations or actions, the type of clothing worn defines the character of an individual and how they want to be perceived. This also relates to the planned obsolescence phenomenon fashion depends on. When something goes out of style, then that person is perceived differently than if they wore something that was in style. The same thing drives other industries.

The chapter on art explains the roles of art and design in objects. Designers can sometimes make art, but since art is basically defined as being something that is useless, it is very rare that design becomes art. What was interesting is that art has gone through a serious evolution that has redefined the role of art in the world. It also has been an important part of other creative areas, such as furniture and advertising. What has evolved is a conflicted line being drawn in the sand between art and design. It is conflicted because of how both fields are creative, and each one has the capability to feed into the other. However, Sudjic suggests that the complicated interaction between both fields will cause a new category to emerge. He says “the ideology of design has been intimately bound up with problem-solving. Now we are being offered an entirely different category of object. It is not one that is likely to do much in the short term to shift the relative positions in the social hierarchy of art and design.”

What has been helpful from reading this book is how it has provided a deeper knowledge of what design is. There is a responsibility that any creative person has when taking on any of these different fields, be it fashion, product design or art. One should know what he or she is doing just as much a person should when in a conversation with another person.

Bibliography

Sudjic, Deyan. "Chapter 1: Language." The Language of Things. London: Allen Lane, 2008. N. pag. Print.

Art Deco Study Analysis

Here is the presentation I put together from my first round of analyzing the images I've found inspiring. I took the photographs I took of art deco building around Chicago and studied the line properties of each image, finding similarities to the images I found in Tumblr.

Here's the link to my Tumblr

Gold and Futurism: An Initial Study of the Designer's Eye

The first formal project of the independent study on styling was to critically analyze what catches my own eye. Everyone’s personal taste is different, though there are similarities, and knowing one’s own eye is a monumental step in being a creative person who can be confident in their ideas. 

The first thing for my independent study was to create an inspiration blog on tumblr.com to gather evidence of what my eye is drawn to. I began grabbing exciting images from everywhere, and many of them reached into the realms of fashion and old urban photography. After making this blog, I discovered that there were similar patterns in my images that reflected the art deco style of architecture. This led to doing a photo shoot of my own to search out how to critically analyze my own designers eye. 

(link: http://mikerayherbert.tumblr.com)

Because there were similar elements in my selected photos and art deco architecture, my advisor Kevin Henry suggested to take my camera out into downtown Chicago and sketch my own images through architectural photography. We decided to target iconic art deco buildings in Chicago, because then the only remaining variable should be how I interpret the deco forms through my camera angles. On a cold February morning, I whisked my camera out to LaSalle street to get shutter happy in and around the Chicago Board of Trade building, The Bank of America Tower and the One North LaSalle Building.

The first thing I did was take photos of the buildings, targeting anything I liked looking at. This ranged from the overall shape of the building, 

to decorative details inside the lobby.

After taking these photographs, I then set for home to pick out the good shots and edit them into a nice album. While on the train home, I realized part of what might be grabbing my attention are repeated parallel lines. Kevin mentioned that he realized that the organic curved lines of Mid-Century Modern has always grabbed his attention, and after taking photos of art deco architecture, I couldn’t help but realize the straightness of these all these lines.

Once I put the photos on my laptop, I dropped them into Adobe Lightroom and began to pick out the ones I liked the best. As soon as I got to the 2nd or 3rd round of decision making, I started to add filters and adjustments to photographs I decided were my favorites. Once I whittled down the photo selection to about 30 images, I then began to play with each image to enhance its dynamics. Some images looked best in fairly original condition, but others looked much more exciting when pushed to extremes of contrast and desaturation. 

Photos went from this:

 To this:

Or this:

To this:

And this:

To this:

In photography, editing is used to enhance the emotion of a sight that has been captured through the photograph. In wedding photography this is especially effective because of how an aesthetic effect can impact the mood of a memory. Here, I used editing to bring out the dynamics of the forms in the image. Particularly in the third example, I worked with the depth of the blacks and vividness of the whites to bring emphasis to the art deco details. All of these photographs can be seen on the blog.

After editing, I then began to do the critical analysis of the images. Because I had edited the images to capture the essence of the building’s forms, the elements of the designs were more ready to interpret. In conjunction with reading about the fundamentals of design in Appearance and Reality by Stephen Hogbin, I began to see how vertical and diagonal lines began to create depth and dynamism in these images of art deco. 

Here is an example of the analysis:

This particular sketch is of the Chicago Board of Trade building. This building is one of Chicago’s premiere examples of art deco architecture, and has been featured on many deco railway advertisements from the late ‘30s. A personal favorite of mine, I wanted to pull apart what made it so special. After editing the image, I saw the vertical stripes created by the window sills to become part of the building’s essence. The other elements I noticed were staggered tiers along the side of the building tapering towards the top. Both of these elements create decoration within the overall form. All of these seem to add visual depth to an otherwise huge flat wall. To me, that depth makes the building impressive, but not domineering, it pulls you more towards the sky than it would  impose itself on top of you.

Deco has many interesting design cues that make it unique among other modern forms. Unlike high modernism, it is a format of ornament, but also has a progressive mentality to it. A common theme I’ve found when reading about art deco architecture is how the form emerged out of the depression as an expression of hope for a financially frustrated country in the midst of one of the most influential industrial turning points of our designed world. Understanding this history is also helpful in understanding why the form may be so interesting.

“In the 1920s and 1930s, with its urbanity, its sophistication, its wit, and above all, with its unabashed advocacy of beauty, Art Deco helped to make New York City and the lives of those who dwelt there a delight.” -Lowe, David Garrard. Art Deco New York, pg.11

More image studies to come...

Art Deco Building Photo Sketch

Friday, week 2 of the independent study, I visited some Art Deco landmarks of downtown Chicago, the Board of Trade Building, the Bank of America Building and One North LaSalle. The goal is to take photographs of Art Deco architectural elements and then critically analyze them.