(smow)offline: Design? Art?

Anyone who has ever visited an art gallery with an elderly relative will be familiar with the phrase “I could do that!!”

A phrase that is normally followed up with “Is that really art?”

Amongst designer furniture philosophers – and elite group to which we like to think we belong – the parallel question is “Is that really design?”

Consumers Rest by Frank Schreiner: Design? Art?

Regularly one is confronted with “concept pieces” that are, if one is honest, art.

They may be packaged and marketed as designer furniture.

Are however art.

Whereas professionals such as us can smell the difference, for lay consumers it can be much harder.

The principle problem is that the border between art and design is thinner than that between say genius and madness or intelligent accounting and tax avoidance.

Indeed the current Vitra Design Museum exhibition “The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction” even has a couple of art pieces nestling between the designer furniture classics.

Thankfully however in the past month we have seen a piece of design in a design studio and a piece of art in an art gallery which beautifully illustrate the difference:

Throwzini by Berlin / Munich design studio Adam and Harborth for Konstantin Slawinski is design

Untitled by Leipzig based artist Marco Voss is art.

Remember these two examples and you’ll never be confused again.

Just don’t expect your grandmother to understand.

Throwzini by Adam and Harborth

Design

Untitled by Marco Voss

Art