Saturday, August 25, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Junction Design Crawl - Sneak Peek!
Here is a sneak peek of my installation at Radar Media Co. 3122 Dundas st w - as a part of the Junction Design Crawl happening tomorrow night!
...and a few links to tomorrows events by the Grid, Now Magazine, and Toronto Life. Getting really excited to see everybodys work!! Hope to see you there!!!
...and a few links to tomorrows events by the Grid, Now Magazine, and Toronto Life. Getting really excited to see everybodys work!! Hope to see you there!!!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Junction Design Crawl 2012
Hello all! I just got word that I am going to be participating in the upcoming Junction Design Crawl, this friday from 7-11pm. For the crawl, I will be doing a surprise installation in the store front of 3122 Dundas st. West!
Since I missed last years design crawl, I am really looking forward to checking out this years... which will be an awesome night full of designed objects, art installations, good food and live music!
For more information, visit www.junctiondesigncrawl.com
2nd Annual
JUNCTION DESIGN CRAWL
Be Guided by the Lights
Friday, August 24, 7 - 11pm
A Night of Special Events for Your Pleasure
Hosted by Your Favourite Shops!
TELEPHONE BOOTH GALLERY is bringing the experience of PARKS CANADA to the Junction.
Film projection:
"Mystic Mountain" Directed by Jamie Travis
nationalparksproject.ca (Courtesy of FilmCAN / Primitive Entertainment)
Music by Ohad Benchitrit, Don Kerr, Casey Mecija
Artwork: Tara Cooper, Clint Griffin, Daryl Vocat, Laura Peturson, Julia Vandepolder + more!
Special Guest: Shannon Gerard's CARL WAGON!
The CARL WAGON Bookmobile is a gallery, printshop, studio, library, reading room, classroom, and community project—all contained within a 1988 VW Westfalia campervan!!
The central ethos of the CARL WAGAN Bookmobile is KEENERISM.
HOW MANY BADGES CAN YOU EARN?
The Junction Design Crawl is organized by a group of independent business owners in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto. Come to participating shops to see innovative design displays, participate in one-of-a-kind installations, savour exotic snacks, and hear great live music.
All businesses who are participating on the evening will have white lights strung up outside of their shops, making it easy to navigate the evening.
Participants:
Russet and Empire
Phillipa C. Photography
SMASH
Opticianado
Articulations
MASON Design
Mjolk
Narwhal Art Projects
Telephone Booth Gallery
+ MORE
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Engineering Temporality
This morning while checking my inbox, I stumbled on the work of designer Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen in a post over on the design blog Dezeen. I think this is a really great blog for cutting edge architecture and design, and is definitely worth taking a look at! Here is some more info on the project and a link to a video of his work...
Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen is a recent graduate of the Design Academy of Eindhoven.
In his work Engineering Temporality, Tuomas covers pieces of furniture in a fine web of steel rings before destroying them in fire, recreating the forms in a ghostlike network of metal.
The remaining objects are meant to be functional, and resemble a fading impression or memory of the original. The aptly titled Engineering Temporality was inspired by his grandmother's disintegrating memories as she struggled to deal with Alzheimer's disease. Toumas completed the project while studying in the MA Contextual Design course under the direction of Louise Schouwenberg.
Engineering Temporality
Tribute to human fragility and material culture.
The topic for my thesis spawned out from a personal agony within my family: my grandmothers declining health. Once a strong and bold woman, now only a fainting image of her past. Her Alzheimer’s disease is unravelling the fabric of her life, knot by knot, and vaporising the very core of her personality and life, her memories, and turning her into a shell of a human being.
I felt the urge to connect design to the human emotional sphere and to values that reflect how we are as human beings, by trying to create a bridge between the metaphysical and the material world using design as medium of expression.
Material Culture
The use of language in Western contemporary culture implies that memories are often conceived as possessions: we ‘keep’ memories alive or ‘preserve’ them, as if our memories were materialised objects. These objects become mementos and our personal possessions which we are responsible for. When objects impregnated with memories are created, they become precious and irreplaceable because of the transference of memories into that object.
Fragility
We have a tendency to facilitate the notion of fragility into objects that have special meaning to us, which enhances our ability to care for them; this can be expressed psychologically, metaphysically or through material fragility. Nevertheless, fragility tends to transform objects more valuable, more precious and beautiful by their virtue of expressing the transience of life and our temporal nature.
Temporality, Care and Dasein
According to philosopher Martin Heidegger temporality is what defines us as human beings. Dasein (meaning ‘Being-there’) is a temporal mode of being. Dasein unifies the past, the present and the future and Heidegger refers to them as the ecstasies of temporality. Our existence as a being (as Dasein) reveals itself as authentic care. My interpretation of Heidegger’s philosophy is that through care we define more profoundly who we are as human beings.
Beauty
In the same way as human life is fragile, transient, and flawed, design should reflect these same values thus bringing more care into our surroundings, revealing Dasein. The notion of beauty migrates into objects when we consider them symbolically comparable to us.
Design
To enhance the active engagement in the caring process towards objects, I created objects that are enmeshed in the notion of fragility through physical and psychological virtues that reflect temporality.
The selection of the material for my final objects was done according to what I regard as being an common structural material in furniture industry; tubular steel. I manipulated the tubular steel by cutting it into small rings. Connecting the rings back together to form a semi covering layer over an existing object was a method of capturing the physical space the object occupied.
The vanishing of the original objects is done with fire; a primordial force used as a method for recreating the original object. The object goes through a horrific physical transformation and a metaphysical bond between the object and memories is forged into existence.
My pursuit was to give an object a memory, create tension and stage a play between the perfect, anonymous mass produced structural material and the imperfect of human being. The shell that is left caresses the vanished object, the memory of it, referring to the past.
The intentions of my thesis are to translate human fragility into a design object and introduce humanistic, more profound values into the field of design where functionality, aesthetics and mass produced perfectness are the paramount. This has been my aspiration — make design a metaphysical experience that overlooks functionality. This is not to say that functionality in objects, or in design, should be disregarded. For me it’s about elevating the tedious functionality of everyday objects.
“Temporality reveals itself as the meaning of authentic care. The primordial unity of the structure of care lies in temporality.” – Martin Heidegger
Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen is a recent graduate of the Design Academy of Eindhoven.
In his work Engineering Temporality, Tuomas covers pieces of furniture in a fine web of steel rings before destroying them in fire, recreating the forms in a ghostlike network of metal.
The remaining objects are meant to be functional, and resemble a fading impression or memory of the original. The aptly titled Engineering Temporality was inspired by his grandmother's disintegrating memories as she struggled to deal with Alzheimer's disease. Toumas completed the project while studying in the MA Contextual Design course under the direction of Louise Schouwenberg.
Engineering Temporality
Tribute to human fragility and material culture.
The topic for my thesis spawned out from a personal agony within my family: my grandmothers declining health. Once a strong and bold woman, now only a fainting image of her past. Her Alzheimer’s disease is unravelling the fabric of her life, knot by knot, and vaporising the very core of her personality and life, her memories, and turning her into a shell of a human being.
I felt the urge to connect design to the human emotional sphere and to values that reflect how we are as human beings, by trying to create a bridge between the metaphysical and the material world using design as medium of expression.
The use of language in Western contemporary culture implies that memories are often conceived as possessions: we ‘keep’ memories alive or ‘preserve’ them, as if our memories were materialised objects. These objects become mementos and our personal possessions which we are responsible for. When objects impregnated with memories are created, they become precious and irreplaceable because of the transference of memories into that object.
We have a tendency to facilitate the notion of fragility into objects that have special meaning to us, which enhances our ability to care for them; this can be expressed psychologically, metaphysically or through material fragility. Nevertheless, fragility tends to transform objects more valuable, more precious and beautiful by their virtue of expressing the transience of life and our temporal nature.
Temporality, Care and Dasein
According to philosopher Martin Heidegger temporality is what defines us as human beings. Dasein (meaning ‘Being-there’) is a temporal mode of being. Dasein unifies the past, the present and the future and Heidegger refers to them as the ecstasies of temporality. Our existence as a being (as Dasein) reveals itself as authentic care. My interpretation of Heidegger’s philosophy is that through care we define more profoundly who we are as human beings.
Beauty
In the same way as human life is fragile, transient, and flawed, design should reflect these same values thus bringing more care into our surroundings, revealing Dasein. The notion of beauty migrates into objects when we consider them symbolically comparable to us.
Design
To enhance the active engagement in the caring process towards objects, I created objects that are enmeshed in the notion of fragility through physical and psychological virtues that reflect temporality.
The selection of the material for my final objects was done according to what I regard as being an common structural material in furniture industry; tubular steel. I manipulated the tubular steel by cutting it into small rings. Connecting the rings back together to form a semi covering layer over an existing object was a method of capturing the physical space the object occupied.
The vanishing of the original objects is done with fire; a primordial force used as a method for recreating the original object. The object goes through a horrific physical transformation and a metaphysical bond between the object and memories is forged into existence.
My pursuit was to give an object a memory, create tension and stage a play between the perfect, anonymous mass produced structural material and the imperfect of human being. The shell that is left caresses the vanished object, the memory of it, referring to the past.
The intentions of my thesis are to translate human fragility into a design object and introduce humanistic, more profound values into the field of design where functionality, aesthetics and mass produced perfectness are the paramount. This has been my aspiration — make design a metaphysical experience that overlooks functionality. This is not to say that functionality in objects, or in design, should be disregarded. For me it’s about elevating the tedious functionality of everyday objects.
“Temporality reveals itself as the meaning of authentic care. The primordial unity of the structure of care lies in temporality.” – Martin Heidegger
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Play me, I'm yours
Over the course of the past few weeks, I have found myself wandering over to the boardwalk to sit near the piano that mysteriously appeared at harbourfront centre not too long ago. A brief message scrawled above the keys reads: "play me, i'm yours"....
It has proven to be a really enchanting experience to sit and listen everyday, as I watch people interact with the object and eachother, while eating my lunch.
I remember a few years back, there used to be a piano at the bar I worked at, and while drunk people slamming on the keys and playing chopsticks was always a point of tension for everyone around... I have found it to be a really haunting experience to sit by the lakeside and listen to people keying away at the piano in song.
One thing that has really struck me with each new visit, is the diverse range of people who can play, from old to young, across culture and status, it just goes to show just how much music really does reach people.
Play me, I'm yours is a project that was initiated in 2008 by British artist Luke Jerram, involving 15 pianos distributed across Birmingham, England over the course of three weeks.
Since then the project has gained in popularity, spreading to cities that include Sao Paulo, New York, Paris, London, Sydney and Toronto!!
For the project, a number of local artists have been recruited to paint each of the 41 pianos across the city, before dropping them off in diverse locations that include: Pearson Airport, the CN Tower, the Distillery and even a Toronto Island ferry- with a special player piano that is rumored to be playing Barry Manilow on loop.
While there is surplus of access to pianos across the city this summer, I am really regretting the fact that I never learned how to play, but for now I can be satisfied with just sitting by and listening quietly.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
1812 - 2012: A Contemporary Perspective
Over the course of the past month, the city of Toronto and its various arts and cultural institutions have focused on presenting a series of events in commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812. From a free concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to a light show on the CN Tower to a 200-tent art installation and multiple free concerts at Fort York National Historic Site; a diverse mix of historic and contemporary events have been staged across the downtown core.
With the majority of events occurring in mid-June and Canada day now passed, here is a last chance opportunity to still check out one such event - an exhibition of five artists that responds to and explores themes surrounding the War of 1812. This exhibition, at York Quay Gallery will be open until Sunday, July 15th. Here is an interview with curator Pat Macaulay and a brief excerpt on the show.
1812 - 2012: A Contemporary Perspective
Time passes slowly. How we remember and how we understand the past is always in question. This exhibition invites five contemporary artists to explore the War of 1812 through its historical complexities and bring forward a contemporary perspective. These artists are both emerging and established and work in a variety of materials (sculpture, video, photography, installation and textiles).
Participating artists: Thea Haines, Keesic Douglas, Meryl McMaster, Mark Kasumovic, Robert Hengeveld
Curated by Patrick Macaulay.
Produced in partnership with City of Toronto, Museum Services, as part of a citywide programme for the Bicentennial Commemoration of The War of 1812.
Robert Hengeveld - dead or alive
Keesic Douglas - Warrior's Path- marking the trail
Thea Haines - Field Dress
Meryl McMaster - becoming Laura
Mark Kasumovic
With the majority of events occurring in mid-June and Canada day now passed, here is a last chance opportunity to still check out one such event - an exhibition of five artists that responds to and explores themes surrounding the War of 1812. This exhibition, at York Quay Gallery will be open until Sunday, July 15th. Here is an interview with curator Pat Macaulay and a brief excerpt on the show.
1812 - 2012: A Contemporary Perspective
Time passes slowly. How we remember and how we understand the past is always in question. This exhibition invites five contemporary artists to explore the War of 1812 through its historical complexities and bring forward a contemporary perspective. These artists are both emerging and established and work in a variety of materials (sculpture, video, photography, installation and textiles).
Participating artists: Thea Haines, Keesic Douglas, Meryl McMaster, Mark Kasumovic, Robert Hengeveld
Curated by Patrick Macaulay.
Produced in partnership with City of Toronto, Museum Services, as part of a citywide programme for the Bicentennial Commemoration of The War of 1812.
Robert Hengeveld - dead or alive
Keesic Douglas - Warrior's Path- marking the trail
Thea Haines - Field Dress
Meryl McMaster - becoming Laura
Mark Kasumovic
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
TO DO Auction ~ TONIGHT!
Wednesday, June 27th, 6-10pm
2nd Floor gallery, Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen st w.
**bidding closes at 9pm**
TOnight! Pop by the Gladstone Hotel and put your bid down for a selection of designed and hand-made objects by both notable and up-and-coming Toronto craftspeople and designers!!! #StufDsgnrsMake is the first annual silent auction put on by Toronto Design Offsite, in an ongoing effort to help continue funding this local design initiative. TO DO (for short) is a self-produced, indie design festival happening annually in January over the course of Toronto Design Week. You can check out my previous coverage of DO West Design which happened this past January, here. Come out and see what local designers are making! If you can't attend the auction but still want to show your support, you can help by donating online here.
Here is a selection of some of my favorite works up for bid tonight!!!
Bev Hisey - Pixel Cube
Lana Filippone - 'the embrace'
Kristen Lim Tung - vessels
Tinsel & Sawdust - Aluminum bottles
2nd Floor gallery, Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen st w.
**bidding closes at 9pm**
TOnight! Pop by the Gladstone Hotel and put your bid down for a selection of designed and hand-made objects by both notable and up-and-coming Toronto craftspeople and designers!!! #StufDsgnrsMake is the first annual silent auction put on by Toronto Design Offsite, in an ongoing effort to help continue funding this local design initiative. TO DO (for short) is a self-produced, indie design festival happening annually in January over the course of Toronto Design Week. You can check out my previous coverage of DO West Design which happened this past January, here. Come out and see what local designers are making! If you can't attend the auction but still want to show your support, you can help by donating online here.
Here is a selection of some of my favorite works up for bid tonight!!!
Bev Hisey - Pixel Cube
Lana Filippone - 'the embrace'
Kristen Lim Tung - vessels
Tinsel & Sawdust - Aluminum bottles
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