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Contributor:
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Babble On. | Login
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Channels: European Design
Catherine McDermott, who set up a masters programme at Kingston University with the Design Museum London, "Curating Contemporary Design," discusses the the contemporary curating of design at the European Design Symposium hosted by the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Good afternoon. Welcome everyone to the, making, the last session of ... of a very full day. My name is Catherine McDermott, and I run a program at Kingston University
with the Design Museum London called Curating Contemporary Design, and I would like to give you a little bit of personal context about the European design project,
along side a very heartfelt tribute to Craig Miller, who has led the project.
We started off with our MA program by inviting Craig to become our visiting professor. We wanted to bring his expertise and American understanding to our new program, and our international group of staff and students.
And it was the start of a very long collaboration of nearly five years, which has lead to this symposium today. If only we we'd have known what we were letting ourselves in for, but it’s been a fantastically intensive
and wonderful research project under Craig’s leadership. And he saw the whole project as very much a holistic research project,
which included the book, the exhibition, and the symposium here today.
It’s really the result of Craig’s extensive field work and many, many work shops and meetings over the last five years, which we have held both in America and back in London.
And its been fascinating for I think both teams, and Penny spoke to this morning, on both sides of the atlantic, to understand
how America views and understands European design, and in doing so that challenged really our understanding of being European and what European design might be.
And, of course, it goes without saying for those Europeans who have been speaking today, that European design is not always a concept shared or understood across the atlantic, or indeed, in our many discussions with Craig
and his team over the years. And one of the, I supposed, first American concepts of European design that we recognize,
but had to perhaps adjust was that for many European design is, of course, western European design, and we in Europe, during this period, have lived through and come to benefit hugely by those cataclysmic historic movements
which are focused and pinpointed in the collapse of the Berlin Wall. But, to steal our British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s address to your American congress this week,
"Don’t think of Europe as old or new, think of Europe as your friend." And we hope, when you tour the exhibition,
that you will see many friends, design friends there.
Well this afternoon, we start with two speakers who, in Alessi and Vitra, represent seminal European organizations, who have shaped not only European design but also global directions and design.
And although both organizations enjoy a long history, their contributions are particularly important from the 1980s, which we have discussed during the day is, of course, the heart and the start of our European design project.
And making is at the heart of both these companies, and they share also many other things.
Both are 2 of our best known European design brands. Both companies have established themselves as strong patrons and strong supporters of design
and, of course, designers. Both have led and innovated stylistic innovations. And both have founded design museums to archive their work and to offer the opportunity to share their passion and indeed their unrivaled knowledge.
Alberto Alessi's company still remains in North Italy. And they both moved into established family businesses, and both transformed their practices from European to international.
In the 1980s, Alessi famously commissioned a series of iconic objects that defined taste and style for the decade.
Commissioning Michael Graves, the famous Michael Graves kettle, and, of course, the Philippe lemon squeezer. They changed the design landscape, and his innovative design strategies continue to dominate design.
Our second speaker Ralph Fehlbaum took over Vitra in the 1970s from his father, who had acquired rights to manufacture Herman Miller Furniture,
and this ensured, interestingly for us here in America, for Ralph a privileged understanding of the post-war giants of American design, including George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames. And Ralph's holistic strategy for Vitra was really informed by these early American contacts
and understanding of the bigger picture. When he took over the company, he quickly faced what can only be described as a major challenge.
A factory burnt down, and he had, literally, to start again. And what he did then, really set the pattern for the next 30 years. He commissioned
a new building from a new and young architect called Nicholas Grimshaw. And in 1992, he became the first major kind client of Zaha Hadid,
and for many years, the fire station there was her only realized building. And commissions for furniture from across the range, from ****Sascus to Renard**** to Mario Bellini, became a standard for Vitra work.
In 1989, the Vitra Museum itself quickly followed, and it houses one of the largest collections of furniture in the world, inspiring generations with it's programs to exhibitions, seminars, and publications.
It is an honor and a privilege to welcome you both here this afternoon, and I would like invite Alberto Alessi to come up to this podium. Thank you.
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