I watched two films recently, Coco Avant Chanel and Bright Star, both in which the main characters cut their hair after a big change in their lives. And I was thinking about the symbolism that is attached to hair and the cutting of it. Where has this come from, and why is it still such a symbol for change and metamorphosis? Something to research I think.
Looking through a book about patterns, some applications included wallpaper:
Tsang Kin-Wah does these interesting wallpapers using text to create the illusion of traditional floral patterns. I like the fact that from a distance it looks fairly normal and ubiquitous, but close up you can read all these angry expletives.
Shi Yuan has done a floral wallpaper that is heat sensitive, so that the heat creates a pink bloom on the leaves. This is incredible, I think there’s a lot that can be done with this technology, although it costs so much…
Lisa Bengtsson who has designed this wallpaper of ready-made frames (I think you can buy this at Ikea). A ready-made structure for your memories to slot into… an interesting idea.
Telling Tales is a free exhibition on at the V&A, it finishes this Sunday so get down there sharp if you want to see it.
I wouldn’t say it’s worth going out of your way to see but there were a few products I liked, one of which was the Bathboat:
In the exhibition guide it says of the pieces on show, whilst originally being design objects with a use, they have been changed into an art object because of how decorative they’d become. This is precisely what made me rather ambivalent towards the exhibition – to decorate an object out of its use seems pointless to me. Good design works both aesthetically but also functionally. I like Tord Boontje‘s Midsummer lamp, in which a sheet of metal is laser cut, and you arrange it around your bulb light like a lamp, but here he showcased fairytale chairs that left me cold.
I don’t know… for once the whimsy was too whimsical, even for me.
Definitely will be buying my own copy of “The Grammar of Ornament” by Owen Jones for inspiration.
His pattern design is incredible, especially the ones drawn from designs carved into Islamic buildings and the “flat” ones done for wallpaper design. Some of the tessellations are so beautiful – and can be seen at the V&A until the 22nd of November in the Printings and Drawings gallery.
I’ve also been working on my own experiments with grids and things for the 10x10x10 project (mini preview):
I like to remember people in certain outfits. And I like when people wear memorable ones. I am drawing to procrastinate.
