15/08/2014

Disobedient Objects at the V&A in London

Design has many faces and can be discussed in many terms: it encompasses both craft and industrial production, one-off artefacts and mass produced objects; it can be technical, poetic, naïve or iconic, it can be futuristic or part of a broader historical narrative, it can be boring, repetitive or ground-breaking and original, it can serve the economy or work in function of broader cultural and social goals. This summer, the V&A museum in London has decided to explore the idea of design as a means of social change in a smart and vibrant exhibition titled “Disobedient Objects”.

“Disobedient Objects” departs from the idea that art and design can act as powerful tools for social change. From Chilean folk art textiles that document political violence to a graffiti-writing robot, defaced currency to giant inflatable cobblestones thrown at demonstrations in Barcelona, to a political video game about the making of mobile phones, Disobedient Objects demonstrates how political activism drives a wealth of design ingenuity. The exhibition showcases forms of making that defy standard definitions of art and design: the objects on display are mostly produced by non-professional makers, collectively and with limited resources as effective responses to complex situations, showing that often the most powerful designs come from those that would never consider themselves designers.

“Disobedient Objects” runs until February 1st 2015 at the V&A Museum in London.

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of the V&A Museum, London 
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17/09/2013

3D Printed Gun and the Ethic of Design Production

When last year an essay published in The Economist described the evolution of 3D printers as the beginning of the third industrial revolution, most designers were already thinking about how this technology might be formally exploited. Hence, a myriad of 3D printed furniture marched out, displaying all the wonderful stylistic and formal quirks allowed by this production technique. The second issue soon discussed in design circles concerned the economic value of the new technology and how design objects would be bought and consumed in the near future. From tiny do-it-yourself 3D printers that allowed you to produce anything you wanted at your house to online projects like OpenDesk that store technical drawings for neat chairs, tables and shelves, design world seemed concerned about how far our imagination might go in coming up with objects we would be able to produce at home.


But last week’s acquisition by Victoria and Albert Museum in London shows deeper implications of these new means of production. As part of their Design Fund acquisition, the curators of the museum have decided to add a 3D printed gun to their collection. In fact, in comparison to The Liberator gun, other objects added to the collection this year – which include Formafantasma‘s Botanica collection, The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites, Ear Chairs by Studio Makking & Bey and the George chest of drawers by Gareth Neal – seem innocuous and almost dull.

The Liberator gun was developed and assembled earlier this year by Cody Wilson, a Texas-based law student, through the use of separate printed components entirely made of ABS plastic, with the exception of a metal nail used as a firing pin. While the technical drawings of the project were taken off the internet, The Liberator project nevertheless poses urgent moral and ethical questions about the use of technology in everyday life. In fact, Kieran Long, V&A’s senior curator discusses that “so far people have focused on the ability to print out things at home, such as toys, but this seems to be only part of it. In my view, the gun blew all that away. It showed the fuller implications of the dissemination of the means of production. Everybody is now potentially a manufacturer.” And while the ability to design, produce and build objects by ourselves appears liberating, hopefully this project will show the design world it should finally start being more concerned about issues that go far, far beyond the poetics of form, colour and structure.

Rujana Rebernjak 
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27/08/2013

Design to See in September: London Design Festival

If you have enjoyed your summer holidays as much as we have, you must be really cranky for heading back to your office. For this very reason, we have come up with the perfect strategy to face those difficult first days at work: planning your next trip. If you’re a design junkie, there is no better place to be this September than London. In fact, for the eleventh year in a row, London will be hosting its Design Festival, and even though it may be a bit too soon to know all the great shows, shops, new products and brands to visit, here is a brief guide to this year’s edition.

The main venue of the Festival, which this year bears the slogan “Design is Everywhere”, is hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum. V&A’s rich collection is the perfect setting for creating connections and reflecting on design practice. At the intersection between centuries-old crafts and up-to-date design, the V&A will be hosting different initiatives, from a real-life installation with objects from its collection designed by Scholten and Baijings, to Swarovski “God is in the details project” which will offer a closer look (literally) at the museum’s collection.

As with any other fair or international event, London Design Week has given birth to a set of collateral events, mainly organized in design districts around town. Even though Brompton Design District is the oldest cluster, nevertheless Eastern London has lately been true hub of creative activity. Hence, Clerkenwell Design Quarter with its retail spaces and Shoreditch Design Triangle with design studios and young creatives are the ones that need your attention.

Last but not least, we feel the need to mention in a concise to-see some events that have already been put on our design calendar for this year’s Festival: Max Lamb and his terrazzo project developed for dzek, Wrong for Hay collection directed by Sebastian Wrong for the super-exciting Danish brand Hay, Graphic Africa at Habitat‘s Platform gallery, and, of course, two days of talks at Global Design Forum at the V&A.

p.s. Even though we are still sleepy from our holiday break, we cannot but end this post on a critical note and think, once again, that events like London Design Festival or Salone del Mobile, should carefully think what is actually their role in contemporary design world and if 19th century world’s fair exhibition model should still be applied today.

Rujana Rebernjak 
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