Designed to an Art
A massive chess set with 6 feet tall ceramic paces created by Spanish designer Jaime Hayon. Called ”The Tornament” the pieces sit inTrafalgar square, like medeival jousters; under the watchful gaze of the statue of Lord Nelson as the admiral plots his next move in a Waterloo of wits in in which the board represents the English Channel… With art taking and appropriating the form of installation pieces and morphing design into the overall aesthetic, its normal that design should benefit from this cross-fertilization of ideas and contemporary design should be exhibited as an art form within an event such as the London Design Festival.
Jaime Hayon, Ceramic Chess pieces
The idea of design galleries is taking form given the difficulty to sample works of artistic contemporary furniture by leading designers like Tom Dixon and Ron Arad. In effect, its design art, where the business model is a limited edition couture approach to designing furniture and less a decorative art that is renown more for craftsmanship than avant garde elan. The blurring of the lines between art, decoration and design is accomplished within the context of contemporary design culture.
the risk of this genre of exhibition and type of art is the tendency to become overwhelmed with the material extravagance and rich materials which can resemble a pilgrimage to an ”object- fest”. The works, seen in contrast to the backdrop of the present societal mood of making do with less, run the risk of being irrelevant and the artists out of touch with the times.
Design is generally at its best when this level of invention, creativity and craft is focused on addressing the needs of the many rather than the indulgences, wealth and egos of the few.
The way for creative design to command more public space and acceptance will ultimately lie in the creator’s willingness to project their talent on objects like wind farms, solar energy installations and functional public art , thereby doing some of the heavy lifting for the more traditional fine arts.
Ron Arad,''No Discipline'' exhibition MOMA 2009
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