The Fun Theory

I love the idea of making ordinary things fun -- what better way to encourage people to recycle?! Perhaps this particular example would be too costly to roll out on a large scale, but I'm sure more designs could incorporate an element of fun :)

If you liked this, check out The Fun Theory for more videos and competition entries.

Follow the sound of water

My university project is about enticement and invitation and I'm particularly interested in how spaces lure you in and make you want to explore further. As a way into the project I filmed my journey around Kelsey Park in Beckenham. In these large landscaped gardens, water is used in many forms: streams with stepping stones, bridges over waterfalls, small ponds and lakes. As I walked around I felt as though I was on a trail following the sound of water. If I was more daring and took a route that others hadn't noticed, I was rewarded by a secret glimpse across a lake. But above all, the reward for exploring is having fun!

This was my first attempt at recording a video on my new camera so it's a bit shaky and generally quite raw. I think I'll use the same concept and try to make another video that looks a bit more polished, on a day when the sky is clearer! When I was filming it I didn't know exactly what I was trying to show, but when I started putting the clips together I realised that it was about a water trail. It was a useful initial experiment.

EAMES: Powers of Ten (Post 3/3)

This is the final article in this Eames mini-series, and I feel that this one in particular demonstrates the sheer diversity of Ray and Charles' talents. Powers of Ten (1977) visually expands and then contracts the universe as we know it. The film will take you on a thrilling and unnerving journey. Enjoy.

Isn't it astonishing that they they achieved this over 30 years ago? I read that this film is used as a teaching resource in schools. I wish I'd seen this as a child - it would have made me really excited about science!

Have you enjoyed this mini-series? I'd love to receive feedback from you!

Aram Store = Heaven

Photo credits: Metrotwin, renaissancechambara on Flickr

Aram Store holds one of the largest ranges of modern furniture and design in London and was founded by Zeev Aram over 40 years ago. It's located in a massive five-storey fruit and vegetable warehouse and the array of design is breathtaking. To give you an idea: the chair section doesn't just have half a dozen chairs on display, but more like 20. In every colour. You can easily spend a few hours exploring everything. The great thing about it being a showroom and not a museum of design is that you're free to get up close to each piece and see how it works, how it feels to the touch, or how comfortable it is.

My favourite items available in the store are these rugs designed by Eileen Gray in the 1920s and 1930s that Aram Store has reintroduced to the market. I always find it astonishing how forward-thinking her designs are for the era she worked in.

Here's a fascinating interview filmed by Dezeen with the store founder, Zeev Aram, talking about the transformation of the design scene in London in the 1960s and why the endless supply of creative talent makes London so unique. It lasts about 8 minutes and is well worth listening to!



And finally, I'm very excited about MONDAY as I'll be posting the first edition in a mini-series about Charles & Ray Eames, so make sure you come back then! I won't be focusing on their designs as such, but on some other aspects that I find so appealing. I promise it'll be fun!

Stadium X

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Polish curator, Joanna Warsza. In 2007, Joanna set up The Laura Palmer Foundation (borrowing its name from David Lynch’s film Twin Peaks) which is an independent company that produces conceptual exhibitions, participation events, staged situations and performances. The Laura Palmer Foundation functions on the verge of fiction and reality and “treats curating as an art form”.

Joanna spoke about some of her recent projects, and one that I know I won’t forget for a long time was called “Boniek!” We were shown a short film clip, and I’m telling you, it was absolutely hilarious! I need to set the scene before you watch the film. The Laura Palmer Foundation was working with a derelict ex-communist stadium in Warsaw, called the 10th Anniversary Stadium. It was built after the Second World War, but was totally dysfunctional for various logistical reasons, and had been disused since the 1980s. Joanna worked with Swiss performance artist Massimo Furlan, and he came up with an incredible idea for a performance art project.

On his own, Furlan re-enacted one of the most spectacular games in the history of Polish football: the Poland-Belgium 3-0 match at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He reproduced the choreography of the match’s hero Zbigniew Boniek, who scored all three goals. The match was reported live by Poland’s leading sports commentator Tomasz Zimoch and broadcast on the radio. Some 700 people attended this historical “match”. In keeping with the nature of participatory art, the crowd was asked to join in with the action and support the Polish team. The original football coaches who were present at the match in Spain in 1982 even attended.

Here’s the video of the re-enactment. The commentary is in Polish with no subtitles, but I saw a subtitled version at the lecture and he’s just saying all the standard stuff. You can get a feeling for it just from the tone of his voice.



The reason I like this so much is because it’s so simple and witty. It’s just hilarious to see Furlan running around the pitch kicking an invisible ball with the commentator getting more and more excited. The seemingly standard sports commentary that we hear creates some sense of reality, but there are many visual oddities such as the disparity between the small number of supporters and the enormous stadium, and the fact that there’s only one player. The line between reality and fiction is blurred. For a moment we might see Furlan as the footballer Boniek, and then we see him as a 40-year-old man prancing around an empty pitch. In the lecture, Joanna explained that when this was filmed the spectators were the “audience”, but in fact the spectators are the “performers”, and we are now the audience watching the film. The fact that the spectators got involved with the match “distorted the distinction between artist and audience, creating a non-hierarchical space of social exchange”.

Talking to strangers

I went to see the Sophie Calle exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London yesterday. I hadn't actually heard of her before but I've since learnt that she is one of France's best known conceptual artsists, and I found the main exhibit entitled "Prenez soin de vous" ("Take care of yourself") to be right up my street!

Premiered at the 2007 Venice Biennale, "Take care of yourself" is named after the last line of an email that an ex-boyfriend sent her. Sophie asked 100 women to read and interpret the meaning of the letter... and the results were hilarious! A translator picked apart the letter, pointing out that it had been written using the polite form of you (vous) which is a rather formal way to address a lover. A musician wrote a piece of music based on the letter, and there was even a parrot chirping away with its "comments". A rifle expert simply shot a hole through the letter! It was quite a moving experience seeing each analysis: I felt sad that their relationship had come to such an abrupt end, and anger at her ex-boyfriend for being so self-centred and arrogant.

The exhibition is very exciting in terms of the way the space is used and the experience that the viewer undergoes. To see the title of each piece the viewer must look up really high, then they need to read, listen and watch. They go on a journey around the space, sit down and look through some photos scattered across a table, then continue walking. One of the gallery rooms showed an interview with Sophie Calle and the interviewer felt that Sophie had really revolutionised the way you look at things. When you read across a wall, you physically go on your own journey along that wall.

Here's a really interesting short documentary about Sophie Calle's work: