10.10.10

In anticipation of the opening of the new addition to the Crocker Art Museum, I asked for the evening off work and headed down Capital Way. Walking past the Crocker mansion, I was instantly amazed by the beautiful new building and its architecture. I was not surprised to find that I was greeted by a large flock of museum-goers. After several minutes of toiling with oversized bags and baby strollers, I managed to squeeze my way through the lobby- a feat proving to be difficult more and more as I was being pushed back by an eager audience. By the time I found my way around, I was able to finally focus on the original purpose that I had journeyed there for- to slowly meander my way through decades of art, life, and culture. The following is a brief description of the layout of my Crocker Art tour:

African art and artifacts.

Wayne Thiebaud (my personal favorite).

Pioneer art (16 & 17 C).

Impressionist art.

Art deco.

Local artists.

Asian art and artifacts.

I most enjoyed the vibrant and vividly animated paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. Cakes, pies, cupcakes, cheese- my favorite subjects! What is most interesting of his pieces is the layering of paint strokes. Thick strokes upon more thick strokes of acrylic paint bring to his work a sense of rhythm and movement. Thiebaud's work makes me appreciate that you don't necessarily need precision in every line, stroke, or cut. Besides this textured effect, Thiebaud also heavily relies upon light to gain his audience's attention. Every piece of his work has a distinct light source- each subject is put on a stage with a spotlight for added drama. Even though there might be one piece of cake or nine identical pieces of pie on the canvas, I can stare at it for hours looking at the variety of colors used to play out a dialogue between light and shadow.

I hope this blog inspires you to visit the Crocker Art Museum, if you have not done so already, and take the time to appreciate what our local Sacramento citizens payed so heavily, and willingly, a price to display precious works of art. Whether your taste is in detailed renaissance art, playful patterns of art deco forms, or in artwork with political agendas, there is something to please all types of audiences.

Bent Beyond Recognition

"Glass as flexible and nimble as the creative mind? Sure! But this is no ordinary glass- it's BENTEMP" read a magazine ad. I was at first quick to judge the ad and pass on to the next page to find something more interesting. Nonetheless, I soon realized the spiral column-like structure was made out of glass! "Ooooh . . . colorful and it lights up!" I secretly chuckled to

myself. My child-like senses turned on like a light switch.

After reading the page-long caption, I became very impressed. Alongside the caption was a thumbnail of glass towers designed by Tanaka and Nadel Architects. These spectacular Glass Cylindrical Light Towers can be seen popping out of the ground alongside the famous LAX Gateway. Illuminated at night, the glass towers look like enlarged colorful "Lite Brite" pegs entangled in the loops of busy Los Angeles highways. Although the glass towers capture attention with their impressive size and amazing grace (no pun intended, really), I was mostly intrigued by the anonymity of their presence.

If you were up in the air 15,000 feet and rising, the image of a "Lite Brite" creation might be more convincing- just reach out of the tiny window and pick up the towers and strike them into the ground again. As it is, the staggering Glass Cylindrical Light Towers warp many notions of glass as an architectural medium. You might not think this at first. But looking at the towers from a bird's eye view, you would see something remarkable. The tower is structured from a sheet of glass curled up like a paper scroll. In an almost neoclassical approach to these freestanding columns, the title that reads "bent beyond recognition" comforts me with some truth. I love it when I can look at a building, or a piece of art, or a shoe for that matter, and not know what it is made of. The whole journey of figuring out how it got there (process), with what (material), and exploring the use of architecture of the object (design) is the fun part. There is no rule that says an artist must only draw with a pencil. Mozart not only played the piano, he played five different instruments! Jackson Pollock used more than just paint and a brush- he used scraps of metal, marbles, string, you name it. My group's Stone Soup in college was made up of "misfit" materials: ribbon, twine, alphabet foam cut-outs, paper plate, wire hanger, and a once-loved teddy bear. Tip: whether you are bending sheets of glass or have a handful of tiny lighted pegs to plot at your discretion, allow your mediums to be "as flexible and nimble as your creative mind".

Three Levels of Design

Nathan Schedroff brought out in his lecture What is the Place of Design in Our Society?-Sustainability", how a more sustainable and meaningful world is in our grip. He mentioned how the "slow food" movement builds upon a relationship between a person and their meal. He further suggests that we think about how the food came to be on our plate, where it came from, and how far it traveled? This form of sustainable thinking can be implemented into sustainable design: designing products that make tomorrow better for everyone.

Schedroff stressed that sustainability should not only be pigeon-holed to "green" thinking and recycling. In fact, in order to sustain this earth, society needs to take into consideration financial, social, and ecological aspects. This approach on design thinking effectively fabricated an ideology of taking care of our future. Designing for usability, accessibility, dematerialization, reuse, disassembly, recyclability, and so on, humans would have the power to transform society's incessant need to extract precious and depleting resources.

Objectified

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/

Gary Hustwit's film "Objectified" highlighted the importance of looking at how form expresses itself through the object, either artistically, through symbolism, function, etc. One designer commented that designers today should "become cultural generators... intellectuals of the future". The general consensus of the designers featured in the film was that of simplicity, a "moving forward" attitude, and ingenuity. It can be said that people want to see how a product would fit into their lives- the human-object relationship, therefore, demands a personal expression of form. Because consumers project themselves on products, i.e. we often project ourselves in a space and imagine how it will impact our lives, design should be "useful, simple, unobtrusive, understandable, and as little design as possible"- mentioned one German designer.

Many people feel like a product should work and perform for them. For example, Apple's iPod does all the work for users by playing music, storing data, connecting to the internet, etc. Most importantly, Hustwit stressed the idea about how design should be doing something that is contributive. Karim Rashid commented on society's current issue- "are the things we are doing really making an effect and making change?" Rashid emphasized the importance of adapting to society's needs, and the need to identify with today's digital age. People change and design too should move forward with an advancing society.

If Mac Ruled the World

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.macwallpapers.eu/wallpaper/Pc-Mac-Apple-Leopard-Os-Desktop/

In your pocket. In your neighbor's pocket. Two tiny white modules connect you to your personal transportable library. A 24" screen fits beautifully atop your desk. Thin as air. The latest iPod, Macbook, and iMac are just a few Apple products that fit these descriptions. A sleek, hip, simple design describes today's zeitgeist of modernity and a technologically forward society.

The Apple company has been critically acclaimed for it's ingenuity in technological products. If you watch television, listen to NPR, any radio for that matter, read a newspaper, magazine, or talk to people, you would know what the latest Apple gadget or newest generation of iPhone is. Jokingly, one does not even have to have contact with the outside world to know that the newest iPod is now an iTouch. Almost everyone is turning Mac- Apple is slowly taking over the world one Mac virgin at a time. Many buy into this company for it's high-performance products. However, from a designer's perspective each product is beautifully crafted, also helping society keep up with today's digital age.

There are so many convenient factors that you inherit once you "turn" Mac. For instance, no need to carry around your outdated, bulky, "portable" CD player and large case of CDs. Even better, you can carry the World Wide Web, an entire music library, and a personal agenda around in your pocket- all in one device! Apple's slimming design behind every computer and portable mp3 player is befitting to today's digital age: less is more.

Barbie Nation

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.barbiedressup.info/

All of my friends had one. She came with so many different outfits, purses, shoes, and she even had her own dream house. When I was four years old I remember unwrapping the shiny pink box to my white blonde Barbie. It was the center of many of my play dates. We would dress her up, plan out her day, and take her on romantic dates with Ken in her luxurious pink convertible. Little girls dream of attaining everything that Barbie has. She has every material possession possible, she's classy, has the perfect boyfriend, loyal friends, and of course the perfectly proportioned, slim body. And what more reason to want to be Barbie because she can be anything she wants- she's a doctor, race car driver, and flight attendant all in one day.

Just standing a little under one foot tall, little girls have been able to live vicariously through this plastic object as a "grown up" without having to step a foot outside the door. Everything about barbie, her face, figure, form, house, family, etc., is universal. Hence, every girl can play Barbie. As a result, Barbie has become a social icon and if there was perfection in a woman's physical appearance, Barbie would be the standard.

Visually and mathematically, Barbie's body was designed to be perfectly proportioned and symmetrical. From this seemingly innocent play doll, ideologies have adhered to Barbie longer than have her plastic high heels (which cannot stay on longer than a few minutes). Barbie has become a focal icon on what can be considered the American Dream signified by her picturesque lifestyle. In a Mattel advertisement, Barbie is shown alongside a beautiful house that has a white picket fence. Her driveway wraps around her large yard and there is a dog and a personal dog house in front. Peering through the window and into the house, one can catch a glimpse of her life: a three-story house equipped with every type of room imaginable, a three car garage, and her main car- a pink convertible with her boyfriend, Ken, in the passenger's seat. A materialistic American Dream is epitomized in this one advertisement alone and an iconic figure is fashioned into the very soul of society. What Matell designers are signifying through Barbie's universality is this: Barbie can have everything. There are no limits on the possessions she owns. Yes, you can be Barbie.

"Reinvent Wheel? Blue Room. Defusing a Bomb? Red Room."

In a color study done earlier this year, scientists and anthropologists marveled at the results they discovered. "Reinvent Wheel? Blue Room. Defusing a Bomb? Red Room." This New York Times article discusses the exploration of human interaction with color in the aforementioned study. Experiments dealt with revealing the relationships behind the colors red and blue and how individuals interacted cognitively when approached with situations involving either color. What these numerous tests revealed was first and foremost the emotion assigned to each color and how certain situations moved individuals to react cognitively. For example, a test was conducted to see whether or not cognitive performance varied when participants saw the color red or blue. Results determined that "red groups did better on tests of recall and attention to detail, like remembering words or checking spelling and punctuation. Blue groups did better on tests requiring imagination, like inventing creative uses for a brick or creating toys from shapes." The article suggests:

"Experts say colors may affect cognitive performance because of the moods they engender."

So, how is this information useful and important to the world of design? When it comes to color choice, designers, artists, and the like, usually think about how intensity, hue, and tonality will shape the relationship between product and user. Many people don't realize how much thought is put into this part of the process in designing a product, or even painting a room. Color choice is not just thinking about what is or is not aesthetically pleasing. Most often, certain hues are chosen to convey or fuel moods in audiences and their relationship with the color(s) at hand- sometimes even moving people to make decisions subconsciously.

Designers in an array of fields can use color to their advantage. Apparently, color has potential power to control situations, make decisions, and speak emotion. A seemingly elementary aspect of life, color choice is arguably one of the most crucial decision for designers. Decisions are usually based on an emotion, and if color can persuade certain emotions within people, then designers have the upper hand on what a product can do for the consumer. The fact that humans attribute emotion, even value, to colors is ample proof to consider appropriate colors in a given situation.

Article found on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html