By Jeanne Tan / 08-04-2010

The inaugural exhibition at the new Design Museum Holon, Israel - designed by Ron Arad - examines the current State of Things; 'issues concerning the practice, consumption and cultural impact of contemporary international design.' More than 100 objects from international designers are featured.

Eight categories set the scene for the current State of Things: the works in New Essentialism reflect the unadorned, functional legacy of Modernism while Super Beauty, the opposite, shows the decorative potential of even the most mundane objects like for instance Joris Laarman's 'Wirepod' power outlet. Mutant Remix combines and remixes historical influences, for instance Maarten Baas' Chankley Bore brings together 1960s pop with space aliens. Of the Body illustrates the obsession of designers with the human body, Social Anxiety introduces design's relatively new engagement in global social issues such as terrorism, economic crisis and disease, products that seemingly design themselves or are intended to be 'hacked' by the end user are Beyond the Designer, Craft Economy examines the revival and redefinition of craft particularly for its potential to support economies of developing countries and Design Lab represents technological innovations in design.

The exhibition features an impressive list of international designers, including a large Dutch/Dutch-based contingency comprising Pieke Bergmans, Joost Van Bleiswijk, Maarten Baas, Ineke Hans, Richard Hutten, Jo Meesters, Damian O'Sullivan, Dick Van Hoff, Joana Meroz, Joris Laarman, Marcel Wanders, Jelte Van Geest, Janne Kyttanen, Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe.

To find out more about The State of Things, Design.nl spoke with one of the exhibition's curators, Beijing/New York-based design critic, journalist and curator Aric Chen.

Tell me about the process of selecting the designers and products. Did you identify the categories first or select the products?
We began with each of the four curators presenting the designs of the past few years that he or she thought were compelling, for whatever reason. From there, different themes began to emerge. And after lots of discussion, consideration, reconsideration, adding and dropping objects--and perhaps a friendly argument or two--a show emerged.

There's about 15 Dutch and Dutch-based designers featured. Was there a particular quality or thinking in the Dutch designers' work as a whole that differentiated their viewpoint from other international designers?
As we all know, Dutch design has been incredibly strong for the past decade or two. But while it would be naive to totally disavow the notion of a "Dutch sensibility"--that would be tantamount to saying that culture is irrelevant--what stood out among the Dutch was their relative diversity. We saw an interest in narrative, irony and provocation, of course, but also in problem-solving, technology, materials and social-human factors. Perhaps it is this combination, after all, that makes Dutch design so strong.

Most surprising product discovery for you in this exhibition?
One of the curators, Garth Walker, is from South Africa and it was fantastic seeing the work--most of which I hadn't known about before--that came from his part of the world: Egg Design's Jozi shelf, XYZ's condom applicator, the Shwe-Shwe Poppi dolls, pieces by Marisa Fick-Jordaan and Heath Nash.

The product that affected you the most?
Of course, I think all of the objects have an interesting story to tell. But I suppose some stood out for me--for example, Maarten Baas's Chankley Bore pieces--precisely because I really couldn't articulate why I liked them so much. In the case of Baas, to be sure, there is something playful, alien and even disturbing about Chankley Bore that reflects our psychological relationship with objects; Baas has given those works a life, even a personality, while undermining our subjective criteria for evaluating beauty and appropriateness. There's something primitive, creepy, Flinstonian about them. But that's overthinking it. I just like them.

Is there one product that sums up the current State of Things in design?
Not at all. No object can sum up the current "state of things"--which is perhaps the most accurate statement you can make about the state of things. Design has become too rich, multifarious and multidimensional to easily sum up.

In your opinion, what do you think is the current state of design, and in this state, what should be at the forefront of every designer's mind right now?
The current state of design is messy. But creativity is a messy business and so in this regard, I think we're in good shape. Of course, social, environmental and other such concerns need to maintain a prominent place in our consciousness. But in my opinion, there's room for everything, and there should continue to be.

Design-wise, what thoughts did you take away with you from the exhibition?
The world is getting bigger, not smaller. Though we went to great efforts to make it a truly international show, I would have liked to see more objects from Latin America, Asia (especially China and India), the Middle East. Hopefully, next time...

The State of Things was curated by Barbara J. Bloemink, Julie Lasky, Aric Chen and Garth Walker. The exhibition is on view through 15 May 2010 at Design Museum Holon, Israel.

Main image & image 5: Godogan Table by Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe
Image 1: The Chankley Bore by Maarten Baas lent by Established & Sons Ltd
Image 2: Solar Lampion by Damian O'Sullivan
Image 3: Playing with Tradition by Richard Hutten
Image 4: Killing the Piggy Bank by Marcel Wanders
Images courtesy of Design Museum Holon

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