ART vs. AD 8:11 AM

A few days ago I came across this post on Art is Everywhere, an aggressively art-centric blog that has some admirable qualities. The post presented a polarized view of the differences between art and advertising. The point of view is clearly that of an artist, and I'm assuming a socially engaged artist, projecting the ills of contemporary society and it's inseparable relationship with capitalism.
The author wrote:

"Industry
uses
all kind of media
to reach consumers’ attention.

A peace of ART
can
inspire people to search meaning of life
give life a deeper meaning

A peace of ADV
can
inspire people to consume stuff
give life a superficial meaning" Art is Everywhere

To one degree or the next, it seems that many artists could agree with this statement, romantic and 20th century-esq as it is. However, more than eliciting agreement from this camp, it made me wonder, why exactly does the line have to be drawn so distinctly?

This type of attitude is what perpetuates the idea that ART is one thing, (pure, unaffected, honest, true) and DESIGN is another, tainted by its relationship to the commercial system. This would only hold true if art and artists today were actively trying to be pure or sincere. Perhaps as the art world moves out from under the weight of Postmodernism, some of those more lofty pursuits might seem attractive to artists again.

Unlike most art, the design of consumer objects has the potential to reach thousands and thousands of people, entering their lives and interacting in a tangible and physical way. (Doesn't sound too different from the goals of art practices like relational aesthetics...)
What if those consumer objects encouraged people to reflect on their lives, or their natures as consumers? People might never stop buying things, why not create something that has a psychological function, an emotional or spiritual function.

Something that cannot be labeled "stuff."

Perhaps "Art is Everywhere" is unknowingly trying to create such a thing with a book the author published and is offering for sale here.

Photos courtesy of Art is Everywhere

LAUNCH: FOOL Products 2:13 PM

Houseplants : Geraniums #1, #2 and #3
&
The BLISS pack

Read about the ideas and process on plainMADE and see more images at FOOL products

HANGING GERANIUM


FREESTANDING GERANIUM #2

FREESTANDING GERANIUM #1

BLISS PACK

Culture Design 11:28 AM

A number of years ago I lived in the student capital of the Netherlands, Utrecht and was introduced to the cultural diversity that gives the city it's particular feeling. It was intriguing and challenging to be a foreigner living in a community of people who were also foreigners, or immigrants to the Netherlands, mainly from Turkey and Morocco.

Kanaalstraate, where I lived was full of small turkish bakeries, fruit stores and mosques; a place where unrecognizable languages were posted on signs, and rolled off tongues, as if understanding Dutch (for a visitor) wasn't challenge enough!
When I read about Lotte van Laatum's recent project at Youth Art Centre Kanaleneilan it seemed like such a simple and thoughful way to bridge the cultural gaps between people living in this area of Utrecht.

About the project Lotte writes,
"Every Sunday a group of young girls with different cultural backgrounds come together in the Youth Art Centre Kanaleneiland in Utrecht to learn how to cook. Through assignments of their Catering Club 1001 they also learn entrepreneurial skills. The Youth Art Centre started in 2007 as a place to discover and develop creative talent. It aims to become the cultural hotspot of Kanaleneiland. Nieuw Utrecht, an association for new urban development in Utrecht, wanted to support the initiative of the Youth Art Centre by starting a co-creative project. They invited us to collaborate with the girls to find a way to contribute to the development of the Art Centre. The result is a tableware project which creates an opportunity for the Catering Club and the Art Centre to present their work." (found here)


For this project the girls brought together dishes and traditional serving pieces from their various cultures, painting them all white to create an arrangement that is both old and new, part of an existing culture, yet also part of a newly designed culture. The arrangement was photographed and then turned into a tablecloth to be used by the Catering Club. The project will be presented during a neighbourhood picnic on the 21st of June 2009 at the Youth Art Centre at the Peltlaan 172 in Utrecht.

More info and projects on Lotte's site.
Photos courtesy of Moco Loco

DMY Youngsters 10:11 PM

A few things caught my eye from the International Design Festival Berlin, which ran from June 3rd -7th in the historic "Arena Berlin." The festival is described on the main site as, "Emergent designers and young design studios from Europe to Asia and Australia as well as design academies from The Netherlands, England, Czech Republic, Sweden and Germany present their current projects and prototypes, giving insight into the latest developments in the field of design." Fair enough- new things, new materials used to re-design old things, insight however, would mean having an argument, or a vision and finding an interesting way to express it through an object. DIFFICULT! As most of the work seemed pretty short on content, one group stood out in their attempts take a conceptual approach in their process of bridge the worlds of fine art, fashion, design and architecture.

OH!LOGO is a German design/art collaborative that creates objects and stages interventions with the goal of "raising awareness of the complex mechanisms of our global civilization."

Their site offers brief descriptions of an assortment of projects that appear to subvert the viewer's expectations not only of the object itself, but of the way we might expect to interact with it. Below is their project, "O!L donotwear," in which they have taken familiar logos and applied them to simple clothing, creating a pattern.
A pattern of consumerism, a pattern of excess? Not entirely clear, but interesting. Check out their site for more info and projects.

intro 7:27 PM

While working on my MFA Thesis, I started FOOL and FOOL Products as small side projects that have now developed enough to warrant their very own space. My art and design work, collaborative projects and writing will be posted here weekly, as well as the work of other artists, designers, craftspeople and writers that might be relevant.

My central inquiry relates to the divisions and relationships between art and design, sculpture and product. Perhaps the more fundamental exploration here is of human psychology and how cognitive and sensory judgment determines these often debated categories.

Something is called art rather than design because of its visual characteristics, or it is labeled because of what it does. In this experiment, I’m actively marketing art objects through the brand name FOOL, giving products attributes of art and imbuing fine art with the language of design.

Perhaps products can be used as gateways to activate psychological space, rather than just accommodating a set of tasks. In acknowledging the power of objects and products at a time when the value of things is increasingly challenged through art practices such as relational aesthetics, I am exploring the nature of attachment and our relationship to objects. Presenting a potentially unpopular viewpoint in the art world, this work questions if the goals artists seek to achieve within their work (such as communication and interactivity) are more accessible in the format of products. Can products trigger psychological reactions or communicate complex messages in the way that art attempts to? I intend for this to be a hybrid site open for discussion on these topics, so please join in!