Tradition being the predictable beast that it is, July and August tend to be quiet months in the design universe – most everyone taking themselves off to their Gîtes, Dachas, Ferienwohnungen, Vakantiehuis and lakeside bungalows for a few weeks of quiet reflection ahead of the autumn trade fair and design week season.
Most. But not all.
A few hardy souls remain, stocking the furnaces of creative culture with architecture and design based exhibitions intended to inspire, excite and entertain.
Our five hot coals from the new offerings opening during July 2014.........
"Disobedient Objects" at the V&A, London, England
In recent years "social design" and "critical design" have become increasingly present as ever more people realise that design isn't a profession, but a way of thinking, and a force for change. Or at least can serve as an impetus for change. And something that is much more effective than songs or poetry. Such concepts however are nothing new and from July 26th, and as far as we are aware in the first exhibition of its kind, the V&A in London is presenting an exploration of the role of art and design in social and political change. Looking at, for example, objects created in context of direct action and solidarity protests, the architecture and planning of protest camps and methods of communication designed to avoid censorship, Disobedient Objects also promises to present case studies of specific protest actions including Guerrilla Girls masks and an action by the Barbie Liberation Organisation in which GI Joe and Barbie voiceboxes were switched to highlight gender stereotyping. Especially interesting is that many of the items on show have been loaned by activist groups themselves, making Disobedient Objects not only a unique exhibition but an institutional acknowledgement of the activists efforts.
Disobedient Objects opens at the Porter Gallery, V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL on Saturday July 26th and runs until Sunday February 1st.
"NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial" at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
In a similar vein to the V&A's exhibition the New York Museum of Arts and Design is devoting its summer 2014 exhibition to 100 New York "Makers": that sub-genre of creative who ignore traditional rules, institutions, definitions and models and simply....... make.
The 100 Makers presented in the exhibition were selected by the museum's Director Glenn Adamson and exhibition curator Jake Yuzna from a long list nominated by a "selection panel" comprised of 300 figures from the New York cultural and creative scenes. At this point we should really write something along the lines of: "Featuring a who's who of the New York maker scene....."; but we recognise hardly any of the names on the list.
Which is one of those things that makes the exhibition so interesting for us: the chance to explore, discover, not like, learn, not understand, adore....
And to discover exactly how Gaetano Pesce, the Metropolitan Opera and Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band fit into the melee.
In addition to a presentation of projects by the 100 Makers the exhibition also features an accompanying fringe programme of performances, culinary events and fashion shows, and thus promises to provide an interesting, informative and for all accessible introduction to the current maker scene in New York.
NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial opens at the Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019 on Tuesday July 1st and runs until Sunday October 12th
"The Good Cause: Architecture of Peace – Divided Cities", at the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München, Germany
Much like sports officials never tire of telling us how positive their particular sport is for the development of a peaceful, healthy, stable society, so to are architects always available for a quick quote about how their constructions make the world a better place. But how much truth exists behind such sound-bites? And given the nagging suggestions that war, famine, suffering and poverty may in fact be rife on our planet, what can architecture actually do for society?
No honestly, what?
The TU Munich Architecture Museum's exhibition may not directly answer such a question, but does aim to show the positive that can be achieved when projects are developed in close co-operation with the local community, their needs, histories and traditions. Rather than just parachuted in by a headline hungry st*r architect.
The first part of the exhibition presents examples of reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, South Africa, Israel, Palestine, Rwanda and Kosovo which in the curators opinion show the positive, healing, powers of architecture. The second part of the exhibition is more specific, looking as it does at the problems associated with divided cities, in particular Belfast, Nicosia, Mitrovica and Mostar.
Sounding very much like a conflict specific version of the excellent Netherlands Architecture Institute exhibition "Testify! The Consequences of Architecture", The Good Cause promises to provide some interesting perspectives on the role of professional planning and architecture in post conflict situations.
The Good Cause: Architecture of Peace – Divided Cities opens at the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München, Pinakothek der Moderne, Barer Straße 40, 80333 München on Thursday July 17th and runs until Sunday October 19th
"Pierre Charpin" at L'Appartement 50, Marseille, France
In 1952 Le Corbusier completed construction of his La Cité Radieuse project. A 165 m long, 24 m deep and 56 m high block of 337 apartments in the southern quarter of Marseille, La Cité Radieuse represented Le Corbusier's vision of the future of urban living.
In 2008 Jean-Marc Drut, resident of Apartment Number 50 invited Jasper Morrison to furnish said apartment with a selection of his works, and works by others which Morrison felt complemented his own works, the apartment and Le Corbusier's intentions with La Cité Radieuse. And then opened the display to the public.
A sort of positive antithesis to George Orwell's (in)famous Room 101.
In 2010 Jean-Marc Drut repeated the exercise with Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and in 2012 with Konstantin Grcic.
The 2014 edition of the L'Appartement 50 Biennale, as we believe it now deserves to be called, sees Paris based Pierre Charpin take on the challenge.
Promising a representative collection of Charpin's works for clients as varied as Galerie Kreo, Ligne Roset, Post Design and Venini, and thus an excellent opportunity to get know more about the designer and his oeuvre, the exhibition is also a wonderful opportunity to get to know, and understand, one of the most interesting moments in the story of European modernist architecture.
Pierre Charpin at L'Appartement 50 opens at Unité d'habitation Le Corbusier, Appartement 50 / 5ème rue, 280 Boulevard Michelet 13008 Marseille on Tuesday July 15th and runs until Friday August 15th
"Unter Zwischen im Ampelhaus", at Ampelhaus, Oranienbaum, Germany
If Berlin's star as the most creative centre in Germany is waning. And if Leipzig's star as the most creative centre in Germany is ascending. Then Oranienbaum, positioned as it is half way between the two, is obviously the celestial source of all creativity in Germany.
A fact we suspect the Oranienbaum based galley Ampelhaus will ably prove this summer.
Following on from 2013's King Size: Art and Design fit for a King, and 2012's Use it Again, Ampelhaus' 2014 exhibition sees them explore the underbelly of contemporary art and design. Or at least their own cellar. The artistic intervention that last year saw the first floor of the gallery be transformed into an exhibition space despite strict fire regulations restricting public use to the ground floor, being inverted to allow access to the cellar. Thus turning the gallery, in the organisers words, into een levensgrote kijkdoos, "a life-size diorama" in which the presented objects are largely viewed from afar through gaps and openings.
Which sounds more like een levensgrote Zwitserse kaas to be perfectly honest.
And that, at the moment, is all we can say about Unter Zwischen im Ampelhaus. For we have no further information. Other than it will feature works by Dutch and German artists and designers. But something in the bottom of our collective stomach tells us it will be well worth visiting.
Unter Zwischen im Ampelhaus opens at Ampelhaus, Brauerstraße 33, 06785 Oranienbaum on Saturday July 12th and runs until Saturday September 20th
