What should a chair or sconce look like? Should its use be obvious or something to decipher and discover? Today, I want to write about furniture and lighting that interact with and enliven their surroundings. I'm talking about design that goes beyond function to become art, objects that have a distinctive personality and point of view. They evoke humor and emotion; they offer innovation without over-complication. Scott Burton, who died in 1989 at the age of 50, is best known for creating public sculpture that walks a fine line between art and furniture. Purchased by museums, corporations and collectors,...
Recently in ARTworks Category
What should a chair or sconce look like? Should its use be obvious or something to decipher and discover? Today, I want to write about furniture and lighting that interact with and enliven their surroundings. I'm talking about design that goes beyond function to become art, objects that have a distinctive personality and point of view. They evoke humor and emotion; they offer innovation without over-complication. Scott Burton, who died in 1989 at the age of 50, is best known for creating public sculpture that walks a fine line between art and furniture. Purchased by museums, corporations and collectors,...
Continue reading Beyond function to art.
Studies after studies have highlighted the benefits of art in interiors but for Lisa Bayne, CEO of The Guild/Artful Home, Art is what she found in her dream work environment during a visit to the Level Playing Field Institute in San Francisco. "Wherever you turn within LPFI's offices", Lisa recalls, "there is art, all of it extremely tactile. At the entry gathering spot, rather than a traditional corporate coffee table, the founders have placed a Josh Urso "Knoop Table", letting you know immediately that this is no cookie-cutter sterile office experience." So why don't more companies share Lisa's vision...
Continue reading ART: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE.
In the art world, museums are trying to change the game by hiring new directors. Jeffrey Deitch, a New York art dealer, has been hired to lead the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. At the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, they hired Bill Mosgridge, a design practitioner, industrial designer and businessman. These museums are trying to shake things up. The simple act of turning a developer owned condo into a gallery for one night is gaining popularity, bringing creative types into contact with those looking to buy a place. Developers get foot traffic while artists...
Continue reading ART to walk on, listen to, touch.
This post on art and residential architecture starts with an example about accessibility. Over ten years ago, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas (Office for Metropolitan Architecture)designed a house in France for a client who was confined to a wheelchair. The three story house has an elevator platform, 10' x 10.75', that moves freely between the floors. The 'room', with its permanent wall of shelves, travels up and down through the house transforming the architecture of the house, becoming part of the kitchen, living space or enclosed as an office. Thinking about rooms as elevators or even rooms on tracks...
Continue reading Art & Residential Architecture.
Most people think of art as something to be inserted into architecture. While art as an addition to architectural space as well as the mechanics of display are discussed in the seminar, I am interested in the dialogue between art and architecture. The two influence one another; art can be an integral part of architecture rather than an afterthought. Art and architecture are often most effective when conceived and executed jointly. I recently attended a lecture by Joseph Kuspan, AIA, who is the director of design at Karlsberger Architects in Columbus, Ohio. (www.karlsberger.com) The topic was the LEED platinum-level...
Continue reading ART IN HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENTS.
The ARTworks seminar explores and examines the broad possibilities of engaging the end user with art and architecture - what is the dialogue created between the two, how do they affect each other, and when do the spaces and behaviors around them change. Divided between public and private work, the seminar finds art that engages people and the places in which they find themselves. I recently attended a talk given by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC. Known for his large-scale interactive public art, Lozano-Hemmer uses new technologies including light, sound, video, robotics, internet and...
Continue reading Interactive Art.
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