Getting back to simplicity, less fussy designs, clean lines in furnishing and objects that are accessible and functional is becoming de rigueur reflecting the winds of change in attitude and economy. From this year’s 12th Venice Architecture Biennale with its theme “People meet in architecture ” to the 25th Paris Biennale where galleries focused on “clarity and monumentality with a striking tilt toward modernity” and, as reported on by VandM.com’s Bill Indursky’s Trend Forecast 2011 and “Austere Luxury: Revisiting the 1990s,” these new directions closely follow what acclaimed author Malcolm Gladwell refers to as “The Tipping Point,” a moment in time when an idea or trend takes hold, tips the scales, and spreads like wildfire.
Soho-based Moss, a bastion for promoting the latest creations of top tier studio designers who often blur the distinction between industry and art introduces BUTCH-CRAFT (a newly minted term from co-founder Murray Moss) in MAKE ME. an exhibition that picks up on this philosophy as a way to establish a new component to contemporary design.
What is BUTCH-CRAFT? It’s an “infusion of cerebral-yet-virile narrative applied to rough work crafted in wood, iron, steel, marble, rust boiled leather, architectural waster, plant life, gypsum drywall that un-related collective influential male artists and designers create to address certain culture realities – aesthetics, political, economic, or sociological” that cuts across the board to spearhead a potential social phenomena.
Showcasing new studio furniture and designs -some of which Moss commissioned – are Peter Marigold, Kiki van Ejik, Qubus Design Studio Aaron Raymer, and Studio Formafantasma, among the stand-out designers whose works represent an anti-academic, craft-driven, “tool belt and heavy lifting” technique, yet also embodies complex theoretical concepts and structural formality.
Feminists need not be alarmed. Although the term “Butch” denotes male virility and a male sensibility, MAKE-ME. actually reinforces that “art” and “design” are genderless.
Some particularly unusual and thought provoking works on display are:
An illuminated sculpture composed of dandelion seeds, LEDs, acrylic, electrical components and phosphorous bronze, produced in a limited edition of 8 numbered pieces.
Collection includes: An archetypical Dutch ‘Farmer’s’ cabinet, three monumental candleholders, and clock in weathered steel, with natural rust finish.
Highly graphic and illustration-based, the work draws inspiration from French Pop comics of the 1960s.
Commissioned exclusively for Moss.
“… on top of being physically stunning, it is the latest incarnation of arguably the most fundamental tool ever made and has been edited for nearly 2 million years, giving it an economy of material and function… Christopher Chiappa.
A plus with the collection of Norwegian inspired furniture is its mobility – easy to take apart, moved, or stored. Made with simple tools, these tables and seats in Douglas Fir, Ashwood, and rusted or Hammerite-painted cast iron is hammered into place with a special wooden mallet.
Material made from boiled leather, polyurethane, and steel. These uncontrolled forms are offset with mirror polished brass and mirror-polished stainless steel joined by metal fittings.
MAKE ME. is on view through November 16, 2010. For further details on each item go to http://www.mossonline.com/, (212) 204-7100.
