In every decade of the last century, the top designers have exhibited pieces of exceptional flair, often reflecting their personality, as well as the times. In recent years, modern designers have produced increasingly personal and imaginative objects, to the point that they are being sold as either unique or limited edition pieces. While this trend has produced household objects of enormous aesthetic appeal, many of these objects are being seriously questioned of their functionality.
The V&A's
Telling Tales presents us with a variety of such designer pieces, every one of which contributes to the question of art or design. The exhibition addresses this through a number of European designers' works, all of which are related to a theme of story telling that has been divided into three subgenres. Frolicking through
The Forest Glade is a seemingly lighthearted experience, tainted by some sort of underlying deceit, while
The Enchanted Castle exudes eeriness, with its grandfather clock tunes and distorted mirrors. The mood of
Heaven and Hell is disconcerting, not the least because the objects are struggling to be judged as design.
Maarten Baas's
Sculpt wardrobe, 2007:
A wise fashionista once told me, "it is a designer's job to bring style to function." This piece's skewed shape and rippled sides give the impression it could have been chiseled out of a cliff side. It's like the warped furniture we occasionally saw in the distorted realities of Calvin & Hobbes. The important point to
Sculpt wardrobe is that it maintains its purpose, while offering a strikingly unusual style. Albeit for a caveman.
Tord Boontje's
The Fig Leaf wardrobe, 2008:
Boontje attributes the inspiration of this piece to the Garden of Eden. While this influence is evident, I think you'll find this on a theater set before it makes it into someones bedroom. Boontje's work is an example of a contemporary designer taking a step beyond his means.
Studio Job's
Robber Baron table,
2006:
The Robber Baron series aims to both "celebrate and shame" the 19th century American tycoons, who both made and spent excessive amounts of money.
Robber Baron table embodies a surreal interior piece of one such fat cat. The piece is comprised of a black factory with four smoke stacks, from which a billowing cloud of gilded pollution flattens as the surface of a coffee table. Part of five pieces in the series (all present at the V&A), Studio Job's
Robber Baron series demonstrates a virtuoso ability to combine functional design with autonomous art, and is alone worth a visit to this exhibition.
Niels van Eijk's
'Moulded Mole' slippers, 2004:
The use of animal skin in the fashion industry is a divided affair. Van Eijk bluntly raises the debate in his refusal to remove any external features of the mole (eyes, nose, mouth, feet) in creating his
'Moulded Mole' slippers.
In the 1850's the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) was opened as a museum for the people (aka the working classes). Its focus on arts and crafts, as well as design, was intended to uplift the standards and taste of the masses. After seeing this exhibition and knowing the government still backs the V&A for its original values, I no longer feel embarrassed to bring my fishflops into town.
Dates: Until October 18th, 2009
Admission: Free
Tube Stop: South Kensington (District and Circle lines)
Notes: 5 minute walk.
Photo Credits: Maarten van Houten (Sculpt wardrobe), R. Kot (Robber Baron), vam.ac.uk
Maarten Baas's Sculpt wardrobe, 2007:
A wise fashionista once told me, "it is a designer's job to bring style to function." This piece's skewed shape and rippled sides give the impression it could have been chiseled out of a cliff side. It's like the warped furniture we occasionally saw in the distorted realities of Calvin & Hobbes. The important point to Sculpt wardrobe is that it maintains its purpose, while offering a strikingly unusual style. Albeit for a caveman.
Tord Boontje's The Fig Leaf wardrobe, 2008:
Boontje attributes the inspiration of this piece to the Garden of Eden. While this influence is evident, I think you'll find this on a theater set before it makes it into someones bedroom. Boontje's work is an example of a contemporary designer taking a step beyond his means.
Studio Job's Robber Baron table, 2006:
The Robber Baron series aims to both "celebrate and shame" the 19th century American tycoons, who both made and spent excessive amounts of money. Robber Baron table embodies a surreal interior piece of one such fat cat. The piece is comprised of a black factory with four smoke stacks, from which a billowing cloud of gilded pollution flattens as the surface of a coffee table. Part of five pieces in the series (all present at the V&A), Studio Job's Robber Baron series demonstrates a virtuoso ability to combine functional design with autonomous art, and is alone worth a visit to this exhibition.
Niels van Eijk's 'Moulded Mole' slippers, 2004:
The use of animal skin in the fashion industry is a divided affair. Van Eijk bluntly raises the debate in his refusal to remove any external features of the mole (eyes, nose, mouth, feet) in creating his 'Moulded Mole' slippers.
In the 1850's the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) was opened as a museum for the people (aka the working classes). Its focus on arts and crafts, as well as design, was intended to uplift the standards and taste of the masses. After seeing this exhibition and knowing the government still backs the V&A for its original values, I no longer feel embarrassed to bring my fishflops into town.
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