Lace in Translation is a new exhibition of contemporary work inspired by historic lace. Lace in Translation explores the intersection of luxurious hand-craftsmanship with modern, mass production. The Design Center’s historic Quaker Lace Company collection is the inspiration for three artists and designers reconsidering conventional notions of lace. European designers Tord Boontje and Demakersvan, and Canadian artist Cal Lane have created installations specifically for TDC’s unique and intimate space — a 1950s era, Hollywood-style ranch house, one of the first in Philadelphia, and situated on the edge of Fairmount Park.
Cal Lane, partially cut oil tank
Oil tank drawing by Cal Lane
Cal Lane prepping oil tank
Cal Lane working on oil tank (Photo by Kerry Polite)
1000 gallon oil tank, Oxy-Acetylene cut and welded steel, paint, burnt lawn, Cal Lane, 2009
Quaker Lace inspiration for Cal Lane's work; from the collection of The Design Center at Philadelphia University
From the intricacy of a handwoven raffia curtain, to the industrial art forms of laser-cut fabrics, a welded filigree oil tank, and a lace chain-link fence, Lace in Translation plays with the concept of lace, utilizing unexpected materials and new technologies to transform the Center’s grounds and galleries.
A special exhibition website is available at www.laceinstranslation.com which invites visitors to preview the exhibition and to submit their own designs and handwork.
A short film running at the exhibition explores the history of the Quaker Lace Company and its role in transforming lace from luxury product to mass market consumable, as well as the creative processes of Boontje, Demakersvan, and Lane. The film features historic footage of Quaker Lace being manufactured, the designers’ contemporary production techniques, and interviews with the designers and curators. Directed by Glenn Holsten, the film will also be available online.
Grass Hair Piece by Tord BoontjeRafia sample by Tord Boontje
Sofa, Aramide and Dynema fibers; powder-coated steel, Studio Tord Boontje, 2009 (Photo by Beth VanWhy)
Original lace inspiration for Tord Boontje's work, collection of The Design Center at Philadelphia University
Ten Lighting Fixtures, Raffia, Studio Tord Boontje, 2009 (Photo by Kerry Polite)
Ten leading designers have been commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life-cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design.
The featured designers and places include Yves Behar/Costa Rica; Stephen Burks/Australia; Hella Jongerius/Mexico; Maya Lin/Maine; Christien Meindertsma/Idaho; Isaac Mizrahi/Alaska; Abbott Miller/Bolivia; Ted Muehling/Micronesia; Kate Spade/Bolivia; and Ezri Tarazi/China.
This is the debut venue in a national tour of the exhibition, organized by The Nature Conservancy. On view are the prototypes, drawings, and finished product created by the designers.
What qualifies as a crisis? Royal College of Art Design Products students’ Sold Out Shop will offer the stimulus to rethink what a crisis actually is...
During the Milan Salone 2009, a team of young design students from Platform 10, one of six teaching units within the College’s department, will be taking up residence at the prestigious Seves glassblock showroom in the heart of the city.
The fourteen postgraduate student designers will stage a makeshift Crisis Shop, exhibiting a range of crisis products. The shop layout will embody the very nature of a potential crisis - a canopy, attached by suction pads, hooks and grommets will stretch across the glass surfaces of the showroom. Under extreme tension, the canopy serves to communicate a sense of urgency, a material under stress and physical tension.
The Shop isn’t about making a commodity out of a crisis but investing in the means to respond to crises at large. One man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity. All products in the Crisis Shop are examples of opportunities in disguise.
The collective response to this state of alert can be broken down into two clearly defined product categories: those that require an ‘Immediate Response’ and those that opt for ‘Mutations’. The group have deliberately emphasised the ‘closeness’ in crisis and consequently closeness to the body. Subsequent incarnations frequently deal with this through solutions of wear-ability.
Exhibition from April 22 to 27 2009 Showroom Seves glassblock - Via Lodovico il Moro 25/27 - 20143, Milan, Italy
Ania, Jacob, Lena and Ramon are designers at 'llot llov', a product and interior design studio based in Berlin. Here are some of their products.
The stool 'Todd' leaves place for the everyday laundry. What's normally not comfortable to sit on is in this case necessary. The laundry is the cushion of the seat.
The desk 'Clark' provides temporary storage which is not about filing or sorting but simply stacking. Everything stays within reach and does not disappear in drawers or cupboards.
'Rosett' is slice of metal, which imitates the appearance of stucco decoration.
'Wannabe' is a piece of metal to be folded around a cardboard box. Very handy in the first days of moving into a new home until everything is settled- which always takes longer than one originally plans for.
The shelve 'Bill' picks up on the common way of using a shelve by randomly placing objects on It. The stackable elements form a shelve which provides containers rather than shelving space. The open area towards the front makes it easy to reach inside.
The knitted light object 'Matt' promises its user a high level of entertainment. It is made for being moved and played with.
The magazine focuses on the international trends in the Neocraft movement. Following the revival of craft, the magazine deals with the latest news in illustration, graphic design, textile art, ceramics, glass and book art. The initiators, Katja Kleiss and Pascal Johanssen, intended to launch a magazine which presents and discusses international trends in new craft.
The title is programmatic: OBJECTS is interested in the individual artistic craftwork, the object. "Unique things remind us of our individuality in a standardised world," says Pascal Johanssen, "the selection of these "objects" is a statement. While design is made for the masses, craftwork is dedicated to the individual." Each issue features academic essays, non-academic interventions of artists and multipaged spreads.
Authors of the first issue are art critic Colleen Shindler-Lynch (Toronto), artist Robert Revels (San Franciso), designer Scott Ballum (New York) and art director Gregori Saavedra (Barcelona). The essays are complimented by plenty of illustrations.
The magazine is now distributed in Germany but you can order it to everywhere on the globe through Illustrative's online shop.
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