27/10/2015

Between Digital and Material: Ai Weiwei in London

Taking into account the sheer size of installations filling the monumental rooms of the Royal Academy in London, it is quite difficult to comprehend how much of Ai Weiwei’s work actually relies on the immateriality of the digital world. And yet, this exhibition cannot but point to the Chinese artist’s dependence on the ‘online’ world – be it as a tool that allows him to maintain a relationship with the outside world in the moment of his reclusion, be it as the central subject of his monumental explorations. The first survey of Ai Weiwei’s work in the UK, the show maintains a dynamic balance between the physicality of the installation and the immaterial, yet closely interwoven, digital world.

Working in a variety of different contexts, Ai Weiwei, in fact, transforms materials to convey his ideas, whether in wood, porcelain, marble or jade, testing the skills of the craftsmen working to his brief in the process. Sculptures such as Surveillance Camera, 2010 and Video Camera, 2010, both masterpieces in craftsmanship, monumentalise the technology used to monitor, simultaneously rendering it useless and absurd. For this exhibition, Ai Weiwei has created new work, including site specific sculptural installation of monumental Tree displayed in the Annenberg Courtyard, consisting of eight individual trees, each measuring around seven metres tall. The installation was funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, where £123,577 was raised; the largest amount ever raised for a European art project on Kickstarter.

Citing Duchamp as ‘the most, if not the only, influential figure’ in his art practice, Ai continues to engage with creative tensions between complex art histories, conceiving works with multiple readings in the process – and often building tension between political powers in China. In fact, the opening of the exhibition marked Weiwei’s first trip outside the country in four years. Ai Weiwei’s show will remain on view until 13 December 2015 at Royal Academy in London.

The Blogazine – Images courtesy of the Royal Academy 
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20/07/2015

Extra Ordinary – Producing the Everyday

What is the value of designed objects today? If we look at major design exhibitions, fair, biennials, competitions, it looks like the object is becoming increasingly less significant. Much like artists from the second half of the 20th century, designers are forgoing the object, focusing on the process instead. The exponential growth of and public interest in this process-based design is evident in the latest exhibition staged at the Aram Gallery, London-based retailer/exhibition venue, which opens to the public today.

“Extra Ordinary” is the first show developed by its recently appointed curator, Riya Patel, and explores the role of objects within wider narratives of their creation, innovation, production and use. While, for decades, objects were seen as impenetrable shells admired for their impeccable form, whose creation remained a mysterious process, designers like Martino Gamper or Max Lamb are making research and production that generate each object more significant than the object itself. Even though Patel has not explicitly acknowledged process-based practices as the primary focus of her show, works like Structural Skin by Jorge Penadés, which devises a new production process for worthless waste from leather factories, or Luisa Kahlfedt’s experimentation with cardboard which creates a new visual language precisely by revealing the process that created it, turn the viewer’s attention to how everyday objects are made, rather than how they should be used.

But if these objects are not attentive towards communicating their use, but place greater emphasis on production processes and expanding design’s conceptual language, how can we absorb them into the ordinary, as the title seems to suggest? Patel explains that the way exhibition was staged – only leaving a couple of hints rather than revealing the whole story behind object – is crucial to grasping their ‘extraordinary’ qualities: “A lot of them are quite strange objects and it is nice to tackle a little bit how somebody made that object. I wanted to leave a little bit of room for imagination and exploration. We tend to think of ‘ordinary’ meaning low-value, everyday and common. If you like, ‘extraordinary’ is the opposite of that. It is the thing that is interesting to look at, provocative, unusual, unexpected. These are criteria that I think make something worth showing in the exhibition.” Perhaps, the future of design does not lie in the objects we come to use, but only those we look and admire. But is this really the future we want to envision?

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of The Aram Gallery 
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19/02/2014

Barber and Osgerby: In the Making at Design Museum

Have you ever wondered how your favourite chair, lamp or simply a mug looked like before they arrived at your home? How many different processes, materials, people or energy was involved in its production? How it looked when it was neither a finished product nor simply a shapeless mass of raw material? Designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby apparently ask themselves those very questions quite often and have tried answering some in an exhibition curated for the Design Museum in London.

Titled “In the Making”, the exhibition showcases a series of objects in their unfinished state. From cricket bats, felt hats, shoes, boots, marbles or light bulbs, to whistles, pencils, coins, horns, lenses and Olympic torches, these objects are meant to reveal the secret processes that result in their finished form. The objects have been selected because they each have an unexpected quality about them in those moments, hours or days before they assume their final, recognisable form. The exhibition captures points in the making process, a peculiar and unconventional slice of time in the production of everyday objects, while also showing a glimpse of Barber and Oserby’s ongoing dialogue with manufacturing that is so distinctive to their practice.

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby comment “We have always been fascinated by the making process as it is an integral part of our work. We have curated an exhibition that will provide a platform to capture and reveal a frozen moment in the manufacturing process and unveils an everyday object in its unfinished state. Often the object is as beautiful, if not more so, than the finished product!”

Even though the exhibition shows a surprising side of our everyday material reality, it nevertheless fails to grasp the complexity of the production process, such as the 85 processes involved in the manufacture of a MacBook or the raw reality of an industrial facility, with environmental, economic, social and cultural implications of those simple objects we usually take for granted.

In the Making
22 January – 4 May 2014
Design Museum,
Shad Thames,
London

Rujana Rebernjak 
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11/02/2014

Designs of the Year 2014 at Design Museum

Every year the Design Museum, in London, celebrates the best projects from the worlds of architecture, fashion, digital, product, furniture, transport and graphic design. Designs of the Year is an international competition that gives an overview of emerging trends and common themes from across different design disciplines through a selection of projects that, in the Museum’s words, range from ingeniously amusing to the admirably innovative.


This year’s selection includes international design stars such as Zaha Hadid, John Pawson, Stephen Jones, David Chipperfield, Miuccia Prada or Konstantin Grcic, alongside crowd-funded start-ups and student projects, for a total of 76 nominations. Shown in an exhibition that is due to open on the 26th of March and will culminate with an awards ceremony to be held later this year, the most iconic of the selected projects include a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon, a table that weighs just nine kilograms, a mobile phone made of detachable blocks, a calendar made of Lego, an arts centre at an old shipbuilding warehouse, a dome made by a robotic arm and live silkworms, and a range of tools for producing homemade cosmetics.



Covering a wide range of disciplines and an impressive number of undoubtedly exceptional projects, Designs of the Year should stand as representative of the current developments of ‘creative’ practices. In fact, this year the ubiquity of the smartphone is particularly apparent, as is the disruptive effect of crowd-funding sites such as Kickstarter, with designers seeking to blur boundaries between the digital and physical worlds. Nevertheless, should it really be representative of design’s evolution through the years, in 2014 we feel a little disappointed in seeing the list of the nominees and can’t help but wonder whether Designs of the Year shouldn’t be confused with good designs of the year.


Rujana Rebernjak 
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24/01/2014

London’s East End

“If you are in London and want to feel cool, East End is your place”. September 2013: I heard a middle-aged lanky hippy whispering this sentence to a kid, while I was walking alone near Brick Lane. Before the 90′s, the East End was considered the suburban zone of London, its tatty and poor daughter, inhabited mainly by middle eastern butchers, bengali restaurateurs and indian barbers. After the 90′s, what was considered the homeland of the english working class changed its face.

Brick Lane, also known as Banglatown (one name, one reason), is East End’s most famous street and the emblem of this transformation: what used to be the seediest part of the town in the past is today a fashion and modern location full of pubs, art galleries, restaurants and small vintage markets. The Docklands Light Railway opened in 1987 to link the East End with the city, and the 2012 Summer Olympics Games signed this process of requalification.


In the last years, the East End has become synonymous of an area full of liveable neighborhoods. From the Whitechapel district – famous due to Jack the Ripper‘s murders – to Bethnal Green Road, the cross-cultural heart of London, the metropolitan fauna is a key element – from ‘chavs’ to hipsters, from businessmen to workmen – that creates a melting pot of different styles and cultures.


But there is something that has not changed: walking through the alleys and tiny streets, under flyovers not far from sparkling shop windows and new buildings, the air breathed in the 90′s has stayed the same. Not too distant from museums and new theaters, the working class houses and the abandoned offices are still there, with old rusted cars in front of them. If you turn the corner, you will see that integration sometimes doesn’t work, when for example, a white skinny boy with a rough cockney accent take out a clasp knife and thrust it into the thigh of an indian boy the same age. Then, you realize that sometimes neither the Olympic Games nor a commercial street can transform the real and ancient face of a place. East London will always have a rough, suburbian and dangerous soul that will never change.



Antonio Leggieri – Image Courtesy of Antonio Leggieri, Tim Rich and Lesley Katon, David Jones, Eric Parker, Hectate1 
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10/01/2014

Kate Moss: 40 – A Retrospective

On January 16th, Kate Moss will turn forty. To celebrate one of the most famous faces of our time, Russell Marshall – a former newspaper art director – decided to stage an entire exhibition in her honour. Kate Moss: 40 – A Retrospective, will showcase the ten most representative images, which portray a very young Kate at the age of fourteen, to the more contemporary ones.

Marshall himself has carefully chosen the whole series in one month, and the signature style is CMYK color – the specific one used for printing newspapers. Each image will be available in ten different colours, for a total of one hundred combinations.

In a period of time in which celebrities appear and disappear in a jiffy, Miss Moss is a rare case. Not only she survived through the years but is not hanging on to fame anymore. Along with the images, a very short biography will be presented.


Additionally, all the photos will be on sale: last month Marshall raised £24,000 by selling just one of them, at the Global Gift Gala’s auction. The entire amount has been donated to the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.

The show will be hosted by the Imitate Modern Gallery, in London, from January 17th until February 15th, 2014.

Francesca Crippa 
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03/12/2013

Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Zaha Hadid

Nearly three months ago, on the 25th of September, Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened its doors in Hyde Park, in London. A short walk away from the main Serpentine Gallery, sitting just across the Serpentine bridge, the Sackler gallery was designed by startchitect Zaha Hadid. More than a simple gallery space in the middle of London, the new Serpentine Sackler Gallery is a bold statement: as much an expression of power as it is a monument to contemporary architecture.


In fact, Serpentine Gallery is widely known for its commitment to architecture through their annual commission of a temporary pavilion, the first of which was designed precisely by Hadid, back in 2000. But while the pavilion is always designed by an architect who hasn’t previously built in the UK, since her first collaboration with the Serpentine, Hadid has completed a few projects in London, such as the Olympic Aquatics Centre and Evelyn Grace Academy, in Brixton.



At first glance, it is obvious that the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is a “status symbol of luxury and political posturing”, borrowing Owen Pritchard‘s description of Hadid’s practice. While the main gallery space is situated in a restored former Powder Room, it is the extension added to the 19th century building that sparked all the criticism. It is a classic Hadid piece: a sinuous structure that from far away might appear as a wedding tent, while from up close it changes appearance from every angle. But what strikes the most is not the presumptuous character or the striking dissonance between the two structures of the Sackler Gallery; it is the undeniable feeling that, while the Powder Room building is as contemporary as ever, the extension already seems too old.


Rujana Rebernjak – Image courtesy of Serpentine Gallery and Luke Hayes 
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01/11/2013

Shoreditch: Design Studios = Shopping Destinations

Multitasking is not just about mental organization. Our most widespread attempt for simultaneous multiplicity, a true synonym of contemporary weltanshauung, is also investing in the space we live in, transforming our environment into an hybrid place open to different targets and expectations. A visit to Shoreditch, London’s East-End epicentre of creativity, is a chance to observe how this phenomenon has been affecting design studios’ identity.


The most acclaimed British interpreter of minimalism, Jasper Morrison was among the first to move his office to this neighborhood. His headquarters, hidden behind an anonymous street door, rubs shoulders with a shop devoted to his “Supernormal” collection of ordinary but essential objects, and a design studio, inaccessible for clients. When you ring the doorbell and enter the white, tiny court, it feels like accessing a secret, suspended world: the discovery of the place or its offers isn’t due to serendipity. On the contrary, both the interior design and the products selection are no-frills but accurately conscious, and every object has more of a fetish than its plain look would suggest at first.

Few blocks away, Tord Boontje welcomes the followers of his laser-cut floral world into a wide open space. Its layout is similar to traditional shops: all its multi-branded creations are on sale, and their display is as accurate as if we were in a luxury department store. Yet, on a closer inspection, the presence of computers on the back suggests us that a few designers are working side by side to customers. Their presence is discreet and their glances silently observe our preferences: are they there to gather our wishes and interpret our unknown desires?

Lee Broom, enfant prodige of interior design and interpreter of the XXI century posh punk, is the latest to choose Shoreditch as a base. His brand new “Electra House” hub is both a showroom and a design studio: two contiguous rooms, each with a specific function, interact through an open door which leads to communication and exchange. Customers have their own dedicated perspective, like the audience of a play, and are free to observe how ideas and sketches take shape around the conference table and the moodboards on the walls. Thus, design is no more a segregated working attitude, as commerce is no more about buying: melted together, they are turned into a sophisticated and often intangible form of entertainment.


Giulia Zappa 
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18/10/2013

The Art of Taking Tea

Few things seem more whimsical, luxurious or delectably enticing than a London afternoon tea. Fueled by a love of exotic blends, scones, unconventional cocktail accompaniments, overdressing and sandwiches I’ve uncovered five of the most beguiling afternoon teas you can enjoy in the English capital.

The Quirky Option
Tucked away behind the bustle of King’s Cross is a retro, art-filled and music loving venue that excels at being different. Drink Shop & Do serves up a Bellini accompanied afternoon tea that makes you wish you’d worn a few more of your grandmother’s pearls (and thought to curl your hair). It consists of simple sandwiches on vibrant bread accompanied by steaming sultana scones and homemade cakes that inspire you to be a domestic goddess. Homely, perfectly 50’s and wonderfully quirky (with wooden floors, a retro piano, cake laden counter and giant origami), this is afternoon tea with a DIY twist.

The Sweet Tooth Option
For a decadent, traditional and thoroughly friendly experience make for the Langham. This iconic London hotel, frequented by Oscar Wilde and a favourite of the BBC crowd, is ideal for those with a soft spot for the sweeter (or should that be finer) things in life. While being soothed by the melodic tunes of the hotel pianist you’ll dine upon glitter and rose adorned cakes designed to match the season and teas that are more than a little flavorsome.



The European Option
The Wolseley is an Art Deco hideaway that blends marble opulence, vintage elegance and a perfectly classic afternoon tea to create an Old World experience and keep the European café tradition very much alive. In this venue, watching loyal patrons pass a leisurely afternoon in their finery, hours simply slip away.

The Get Out of Town Option
Few things feel as fanciful as sitting by an open window, overlooking the fast flowing Thames, as the leaves begin to turn and you dine on macaroons the colour of a London sunset. Sinking further into a rich leather couch in The Bingham, a Richmond institution, you feel a million miles from the bustle of the city and, filled with lighter than air sandwiches and cheesecake that’s rather moreish, find it a tad difficult to suppress the urge to wander through water meadows. City meets country indeed.


The Designer Option
For something more fashion-focused make for the hallowed halls the Berkeley for Pret-a-Portea. Aimed at the London fashion set – who rarely conduct meetings over anything but afternoon tea (or cocktails) – this offering has a bit of a twist; the sweet treats are styled after key fashion looks of the season. Think Burberry trench cookies and Mulberry orange cake handbags – classic culinary bliss with a rather feminine feel.


Liz Schaffer 
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11/10/2013

Where Rock is Born

From Glasgow to Bristol and everywhere in between, Britain’s music venues have played an instrumental role in the world of Rock’n'Roll, and that could easily be considered an understatement. Indispensable from the music scene, as one could not exist without them, they have played a vital, even crucial role through the simple act of cherishing and cultivating musical greatness. Whether it’s an arena, a palatial theatre or a sweat-scented club, a dingy pub or a loo-sized bar, it makes no difference whatsoever. The birthplace of copious rock-stars, in these temples of music, artists and music aficionados alike have found and continue to find a creative refuge and most importantly perhaps, a sanction to Rock.

Here are some of the most legendary British music venues to check out for yourselves. And although quite historic, as they can all boast having numerous superstars performing at their premises, they are also far from being dated, as they continue to nurture the best, most cutting-edge artists out there, as they have been doing for decades.


King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
Glasgow
A venue with a capacity of about 300 would usually be called intimate. But in King Tut’s case, we will call it tiny, as the acts it attracts usually play for crowds of thousands. Known as the spot where Oasis were discovered, Radiohead, Pulp and Blur have all been on the line-up. Furthermore, it has also been placed at number 7 on a list of 50 places to visit in the world by New York Magazine in 2006, Mount Kilimanjaro was number 9 on the list.

Rock City
Nottingham
With 3 rooms and a capacity of around 2000, Rock City is bang in the centre of Nottingham. Some of the first major acts on the bill have included R.E.M, The Cure and U2. While George Akins who took over the venue’s managerial duties at the tender age of 19, now 39, has seen Courtney Love roaming around naked backstage, and David Bowie arriving with a truck carrying four huge couches and a Persian rug for his dressing room.

The 100 Club
London
Open since the 40’s, the 100 Club has hosted most major Blues and R&B musicians, in successive years it hosted The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton and more recently Paul McCartney. Even Alice Cooper got to play a gig with his mate Johnny Depp in 2011. So it’s quite safe to say that the 100 Club is definitely legendary.

The O2 Academy
Brixton, London
From Prince to Marilyn Manson, practically everyone has played in the O2 Academy. And having hosted some pretty historic Rock moments, like the last ever Smiths show, it is one of the most well known legendary venues.

The Thekla
Bristol
With a Banksy art piece of the Grim Reaper in a rowboat on its side, Thekla is quite unique as a music venue, and not because of the Banksy piece but because it’s a boat, something that even the artists that are booked to play the venue fail to notice before showing up. In recent years the line up has included Mumford & Sons, The XX and British Sea Power.


Andreas Stylianou  
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