reading responses.

I did some reading this weekend...now I respond.

Sustainable By Design: Explorations in Theory and Practice
By Stuart Walker

I loved how personal his writing is. This introduction includes ideas about what is sustainable design or sustainable development. He begins by stating that as designers, we have the potential to create a more meaningful material culture. I love that idea. When I think of material culture I think waste, excess, want ruling over need, and ultimately a lack of meaning. Why can’t we create a more meaningful material culture? Design can allow for this change. Walker discusses how our individual understandings of sustainable design reflects are own differences in experiences. He talks about his personal history, and how the environment he grew up in influenced his ideas about design and the environment in general. There are many ways that sustainable design can be considered. I completely agree that an individual’s personal history is a crucial element in the design process. The influence of personal experiences and opinions will be reflected in the choices made by the designer.

Eco: Source Book
By Alastair Fuad-Luke

Fuad-Luke outlines the idea of “eco-plurist design.” This design encompasses the use of recycled materials, radical/new concepts, and dematerialization. The design challenge he introduces is to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of all products on the environment. As designers we should attempt to maximize human benefit while minimizing the use of energy or material. This is the soul of sustainable product design. I enjoyed the part of this introduction that stressed the role of businesses in moving commerce toward sustainability. Big brands have the potential to reduce the environmental impact of their activities, but not if they persist on encouraging customers to consume more, not less. The role of business is crucial. There must be a change in the way businesses operate. There must be more efficient product/service design, more durable goods, and an increase in reusing and recycling. Design is critical to social acceptance and market longevity. In this book, the Faud-Luke defines the word eco-efficiency as greater resource productivity by maximizing financial value added per unit of resource input. I enjoyed the concept of “big brand” businesses needing to incorporate these concepts as their products are what fill the market.

Green Design
By Jenn Shreve

The term “cradle to cradle” references the idea of products designed to have one useful life after another. These products are made with safe materials, can be deconstructed and the materials reused. This idea of “design for disassembly” allows for the life of the products designed to continue in a variety of forms. I liked how Shreve stressed the idea of being a good designer first, then allowing your decisions to be based on what you know about the environment. I completely agree that the idea of products being reborn through disassembly and reassembly. This concept should be implemented to create sustainable design, however Shreve is completely right when she stresses the importance of good design before executing this concept. She talked about some environmental design movements in the past including the Arts and Crafts movement and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Their concepts were revolutionary at the time, and should be continued today.

Experimental Eco-Design: Architecture/Fashion/Product
By Brower/Mallory/Ohlman

In this short introduction the idea of considering economic, environment, and social values in production, life cycle, and material choice. This concept ties in directly with the project we’re working on. Material choice is key in design, and should be considered just as much as the form or function of the product. The ideas of environment and social values should be considered when choosing these materials. What process did these materials go through before you received them? What is their life cycle?

Looks Good, Feels Good, Is Good?
By Edwin Datschefski

Edwin discussed the importance of material choice in design. He described the “hidden ugliness” found in a variety of materials. Behind beautiful-looking products, this ugliness can be found in the stories of the material’s history. The article provided examples of how certain forests are destroyed and the labor involved in mining certain substances. What is the cost of the collection of this material? Is human life lost? How is the environment affected? He then outlined the five design requirements of sustainable products. First they must be cyclic, or made from materials that can either decompose or can continuously be recycled in a closed loop. They must also be solar, meaning it consumes only renewable energy. They must be safe, efficient, and socially responsible. “Designers must look to a future in which everything is completely compatible with nature.”

A New Frame of Mind
By Peter Danko

This article begins with a reference to the Bauhaus movement which was based on the ideas of sustainability and industrial production in design. Danko refers to this as eco-modernism. This new frame of mind should be the basis of all design in our modern world. He insists that design should be a reflection of values. What do we value in our society? As an individual designer, do you value the environment? Danko insists that we must shift our perception of beauty to a different frame of reference. Values are important, and should be referenced within an individual’s design. I love the idea of an expression of your own personal values through sustainable design. Design matters, and should express things that matter.

names.

Jan gave us a bunch of names to check out. Here are a few images I found that I liked. Couldn't get the images of Adam Wallacavage (http://www.adamwallacavage.com/), Pinar Yolacan (http://www.pinaryolacan.net/), or Ted Meuhling (http://www.tedmuehling.com/). Adam Wallacavage made some pretty awesome chandeliers. http://www.adamwallacavage.com/octo/index.html
There is just so much to see.


Susie Ganch.
Kay Hwang. installation.
I found this sign on the Quirk Gallery website. http://www.quirkgallery.com/ Cool stuff.

Natalya Pinchuk. She had some awesome felt necklaces http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=5899

Jewelers' Werk - innovative contemporary jewelry by international artists. Really great website, with great images. http://www.jewelerswerk.com/index.html

Helen Carnac. brooch.

bamboo (one of my favorite words). Laura Amossen.

pegs.

I feel like the images I've come across in the books we got from the library are better. But here is what I found online.

Appalshop, Inc.

http://www.appalshop.org/

Appalshop is a multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia producing original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books.

One of the many documentaries that looked great for our project was "Strip Mining: Energy, Environment, and Economics" directed by: Frances Morton and Gene DuBey 1979.

Strip mining accounts for over half of the coal produced in Appalachia as well as the region’s most conspicuous environmental problem. It forces people to choose between jobs and the beauty, ecology, and, in some cases, the existence of the mountains on which they live. Strip Mining: Energy, Environment, and Economics looks at the history of this controversial mining method, the citizens movement organized to stop it, and the battle to regulate strip mining that culminated in passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Filmed during the midst of the energy crisis of the 1970s, the film retains its relevance as a U.S. energy policy based on unfettered consumption again comes into question and more people weigh the enviromental impact of their work and lifestyle.

There was also one called "Strip mining in Appalachia" directed by Gene DuBey in 1973.

Strip Mining In Appalachia is an early Appalshop examination of the desecration of land and communities that is brought about by surface mining of coal. A mine operator’s opinion that environmental impact is minimal is contrasted with statements from people whose homes have been ruined by bad mining practices. Aerial footage is used to show strip mines while a biologist provides a scientific explanation of what this mining method does to the land.

Appalachia. Project.

I went home today for some face to face research on our collaborative Appalachia project. My dad makes mandolins by hand. Talking with him about the craftsmanship involved in creating stringed instruments was pretty cool. I took some pictures in his work area while I was learning how to carve wood. Yes. I carved a tuning peg out of wood today. Good times. My dad is cool.

lizzy is amazing.

Such a cool magazine. With such a cool name.

Check out their website:

http://www.karenmagazine.com/index.html

"KAREN MAGAZINE serves up a delightful dish of the everyday, gently observedand presented as something quite unique."

Basically all the articles in the magazine are just stories of everyday people, situations, things. It remarks on the idea of the ordinary as something worth reading/knowing about. I agree. The oridinary needs to be noticed. I feel like it could be a great inspiration.

"In KAREN magazine fashion is a T-shirt about the emotional world of the potato and beauty is goose pimples on the beach. There's a coalman and a butcher andRoger with his bad feet."

Isn't this amazing? I want to subscribe now.

material. carbon fibre.

Found out about this through the listserv, so I'm sure most of you have already seen this, but I liked it. Carbon fibre seems like an awesome material. I googled it and it seems to be the "wonder fiber" that is stronger than steel but much lighter. Mathias Bengtsson used it to create some pretty cool woven structures that appear to be extremely strong and heavy, but since they are made of carbon fiber, are surprisingly light in weight. His website is fun to look around as well.

http://www.bengtssondesign.com/spun_chaiselounge.html

more to see.

Yay for google searching.

Mio Culture

http://www.mioculture.com/

Green Design for Everyone.

Ripple Wallpaper - acoustic weave

I love paper.

100% Wool Felt-shell Lighting - I love how they use the natural qualities of felt to diffuse light.

Andrew Goss

I believe we looked at some of his work in class on Thursday. He does some interesting pendents out of cast concrete. I also found an image of these bracelets that are heat-formed cellulose acetate.

Mary Pearse

She had some lovely jewelry, mainly brooches, that were cast out of plastic and paper. I thought her designs were very elegant and her choice of materials contributed to her overall aesthetic. I put an image of one of her paper cast pins at the top.

Marcel Wanders

http://www.marcelwanders.com/

Really cool website. He made a sponge bowl (I couldn't get the image on here) where he took a regular sponge, impregnated it with porcelain resin, and then burned out the sponge while hardening the resin in a kiln. The end result was a porcelain bowl that kept the texture and form of the sponge. In the same way, he created a lace table for Droog. He used Swiss lace as a material and hardened it with a resin for table function. He also made an amazing crochet chair that is beautiful. I would recommend checking out his website. Below is a picture of his knot chair he designed for Droog.

Dialects of desire by Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny Beeswax Vase

I found this vase on the droog website. Bees helped in its construction. I love how the material contributes to the form.

Marti Guixe

http://www.guixe.com/

Brilliantly simple and curiously serious.

Really interesting site. I couldn't get any of the images to put on here. I liked his "slogan."

look. there is so much.

I started looking at some of the artists Jan mentioned in class on Thursday. There is so much out there.

Hella Jongerius
http://www.jongeriuslab.com/

Here are a few images from her wonderful website. I found a few quotes that I liked.

"In her approach, it is not the form that is the subject of design: if anything, the form is a means enabling the material to disclose its inner nature."

I thought this design was cool, she cast it so that seam lines would be very visible. It makes the vessel seem unstable, or pieced together, when it in actuality it was cast as one solid form.

"Examining the idea of families of objects in which each individual item has its own, distinct personality yet shares common traits with its ‘relatives’; Hella Jongerius began thinking about the similarities between glass and ceramics. Both materials are based on earth – sand or clay – and both need heat in order to be transformed. Yet oddly enough the chemical aspects of their particular production process have until now prohibited their unification in one element."

"The flexible Soft Urn is an archetypal glass vessel form cast in polyurethane, which results in an object that has an antique and old appearance. The process of production, with its attendant vagaries, is made apparent as scratches and bubbles in the material, and even the molding joints are left visible. In this way, the object communicates its complex and fascinating history to the user."

Maarten Baas
http://www.maartenbaas.com/

Here are some images of his work. I liked the clay furniture, the bright colors, the way they look squishy. He did a collection of furniture that he literally burned to achieve a black, partially destroyed look. He also used tape as a material. He said it was "re-used" leftover tape that he would have just thrown out. I love his website. All the lettering either looks like cut out cardboard or paper and handwritten type. Love it.


Jurgen Bey
Really cool website, all the descriptions of the pieces were in a different language so I couldn’t figure out actual materials used. Lots of chairs, benches, and furniture, done in new ways. I couldn't get any of the images on here but I definitely recommend checking out his website. It's a very cool design.

http://www.jurgenbey.nl/

Hella Jongerius (again)
http://www.jongeriuslab.com/

This is an image of a bathmat she designed for droog.

Preliminary Research: Materials Project

So I've been doing some preliminary research on the upcoming materials project. These photos unfortunately reminded me of some of the images I found when researching blood diamonds. Can you imagine children working in these conditions? Can you imagine anyone working in these conditions? These are just a couple of the websites that are out there concerning issues with the gold and metal mining industry.

http://www.ethicalmetalsmiths.com/

http://www.nodirtygold.com/

I read the "Golden Rules" report I found on the nodirtygold website. I found a quote that I think serves as a good transition from blood diamonds to the gold mining industry.

"As in the case of “blood diamonds,” gold has fueled violent conflicts in parts of Africa and the Pacific. In Africa, the struggle for control of lucrative gold deposits has contributed to violence among armed factions. In at least one situation, a gold-mining company provided financial and logistical assistance to armed groups. On Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville Island, concerns among local populations about mining’s negative environmental impacts and lack of community benefits led a local group to take up arms and, ultimately, precipitated a civil war." (Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining, pg. 12).

I also read the article I found on the ethical metalsmiths website by Keith Lewis. (Ethics of Metalsmithing, 1989). I love how he wrote this article and the ways in which he explained his ideas. One of the many quotes I enjoyed was in the very beginning of the article: "reality intrudes." He talked at one point about how many artists argue that you have to make a living. These concerns cannot have precedence over moral ones though. I thought Lewis' arguments were very well articulated and stressed the importance of our responsibility as artists.

"Responsibility to try and make a difference, if only by a gesture. Gestures turn insignificance into power."

I liked that quote as well. He ended with ideas that we should all keep in mind. He stressed the importance of developing alternate sources, exploring alternative materials, redefining precious, and educating ourselves and our patrons.