MOMA “This is for Everyone: Design Experiments for the Common Good”
[Meanwhile, in the Real World…]
The gallery “This is for Everyone: Design Experiments for the Common Good” is located on the 3rd floor of the MOMA. The statement, “Is This for Everyone?” greets you upon entering.
The area in which it is displayed is partitioned according to different subjects. Across from the entrance of the gallery is a row of showcased creations. Adjacent to the entrance is a dress generated through 3D printing. Just from looking over the gallery space, there is one thing you immediately get the sense of: versatility. The gallery displays work that ranges from bio-medicine, to fashion, furniture, apps, games, and so on.
Initially, you get the sense that –Ah, yes. Design is truly for everyone. Look at how flexible and adaptable it is to many different kinds of fields! There are so many interesting things it is able to create. For example, one of my favorite pieces:
“Attracted to Light”
^ This is my picture
^ Here is a better picture (cr. http://www.moma.org/collection/works/110458)
“Attracted to Light” is by Geoffrey Mann, and is meant to show the “erratic behavior of a moth upon the stimulus of flight.” It was created by capturing the insect’s flight path with cinematic technology. Then a prototype was rapidly generated by using lasers, controlled by computers, to solidify liquid and/or powdered resin layer by layer (which sounds a lot like additive manufacturing).
^Your new art partner
I love this piece because I love that the flight of a moth excited by light created such an organic yet fantastical form. I honestly believe that human hands by themselves would not be able to achieve this level of fluidity when creating free forms such as this. In this case, I truly appreciate the new possibilities for creation made available to us by 3D design and printing.
However, this was more than just a session of “Oooh’s” and “Aaah’s”. I believe that there were some valuable observations I was able to gain from the gallery.
[Insights]
As previously stated, I initially felt the feeling that design truly was for everyone. However, as you look closely at the wall across from the entrance, you can see the illuminated words: “Is This for Everyone?_ ” (See the Featured Image for this post)
This leads me to the first insight I gained:
1. Design is an amazing tool for furthering knowledge and sharing experiences…for all those that are able to access it. There are many people in the world that are do not have access to such technological advancements and therefore cannot experience the advantages they give. However, in turn, design continues to strive to make such tools available to an increasing number of people across the world.
2. Design creativity and STEM fields are not mutually exclusive things; in fact, they have worked together to create strides in the medical field. For example, featured in the gallery were bio-design works that demonstrated how efforts from both design and science can culminate to create things that will benefit all people.
3. People love being able to manipulate things to their own aesthetic ideal, even living creatures. I learned this through my second favorite piece, known as “Kingyo Kingdom”. In that piece, goldfish known as Ranchu are specifically bred for show to obtain the ideal ‘look’, and are treated as commodities rather than living beings.
[“Fabricated” Connections]
What I saw at the exhibit reaffirmed what I read in “Fabricated”. 3D Design and Printing is truly making great strides and a wide variety of fields to improve the quality of life for the general public. It was interesting seeing the things the book discussed right in front of me, and truly understanding the effort and ingenuity that goes towards working on such a process.