OUGD601 / Slow Movement

SLOW MOVEMENT

"A life of hurry can become superficial, when we rush we skim the surface and fail to make real connections with the world, or other people."

'In Praise of Slow' 2004 - Carl Honoré 

In this book Honoré first explored how the Slow philosophy might be applied in every field of human endeavour and coined the phrase "slow movement".

"It is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail's pace. It's about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. It’s about quality over quantity in everything from work to food to parenting."

This philosophy backs the belief of the need for hand made in design. It links with this quote -

“For many designers, hand made was a reaction - a response - to the computer, and many believed creating boutique projects using older, slower, or hand-manipulated was a way to positively direct design back to its roots.” Chen, Fingerprint: The Art of Using Handmade Elements in Graphic Design (2006)

“When things happen too fast, nobody can be certain about anything, about anything at all, not even about himself” Slowness, MILAN KUNDERA novella (1996)

OUGD601 / Presentation

Short presentation outlining my question (may slightly change), areas I'm going to look in to, books I have got out / am reading and a few quotes.

The feedback on this presentation was useful, it has made me realise I need to make my question more focused and my general area of study a lot more focused also. As well as this there needs to be an aspect of my essay which is predominantly about graphic design, as at the moment it is focusing more on craft and textiles.

OUGD601 / Primary Research / Contacting Handmade Practitioners / Knotsproject

I have also been in contact with Becca Baker (my old graphics teacher) and the designer / maker behind Knotsproject - 'jewellery and illustrations / prints inspired by norfolk'

Why are you drawn to handmade crafts? 

"Handmade to me represents exploration and experimentation sometimes raw and unrefined but sometimes edited and polished. It's instinctive and intuitive and can leave more space for 'mistakes' or 'accidents' to happen. This can then shift an idea or practice completely and develop thinking on a higher level. I still think a considered and thoughtful approach is needed and individual guidelines or almost restrictions should be put in place. Whether they are followed or not is a different matter."

OUGD601 / Primary Research / Contacting Handmade Practitioners / CASE STUDYO

I have starting getting in contact with hand made practitioners / designers, asking them what draws them to hand made crafts.

CASE STUDYO

http://www.casestudyo.com/

Case Studyo showcase / sell artists and designers hand made products.

"CASE STUDYO is a publisher and producer of artworks by contemporary artists. We collaborate with artists from a broad artistic scene."

Their reply to my question was;

Hello Rya, 

Here a foreword we wrote for a book publication last year about  'artisanal revolution' that should cover your question. 

All the best, 

Mathieu

"We live in a world of big industry and mass production.

The industry's conveyor belt never seems to stop spewing out products. These objects have a function but often seem to lack a soul.

The overload of consumer society fills the world, but leaves our hearts empty. All that abundance can't provide what the consumer actually yearns for; a little bit of love and consideration. We don't merely want to be catered to, we want to be cared for.

No matter how cold the industrialized world may seem, a heartwarming growing number of people have made it their mission to reintroduce the love in the production process.

A counterculture of thoughtful companies, product designers & edition houses is on the rise, dedicated to soulful output of the highest quality.

Society's need for decompression translates itself in their production process.

Restraints of shape, budget and material choices are considered and often present new possibilities.

Things are given thought and every aspect of the product is treated with care to make it shine in it's own right.

Packaging can become a silkscreened artwork or a unique way to display the product.

‘Artist Series’ is an homage to these soldiers of love, the craftsmen and designers that give merit to the smaller things and strive to create a legacy of objects that capture the time we live in. A time of abolishing boundaries; boundaries between high and low, art and design or even form and function.

At Case Studyo we cherish our small productions and collaborations with artists.

The curation of our artists is guided by our personal taste and gut feeling, we like to work with new talent as well as established artists. There are no boundaries; artists can come from a background in graphic design, graffiti or contemporary art.

The idea of infusing meticulous care into the production process and thereby elevating the product to become a piece of art is the heart of our philosophy. Some of our series specifically focus on the duality between an art piece and a functional object.

We believe a limitless mindset is key; we don't consider the lines to be blurred, we ignore them all together and strive for a perfect marriage between artistry and production."

OUGD601 / GUR

GUR focus on traditional rugs, allowing to discover the expansion of artistic forms using the same weaving materials and techniques of Portugal. They collaborate with designers all around the world. 

'All the GUR are handmade, held in a traditional handloom, with raw tirela (rag), embossed technique or over layers of colours, finishing with basic sewing.'

Sebastiao & Rodrigues

Daniel Clarke

MAMAMA Studio

Mogollon NY

Fabrica

David Mendez Alonso

Dan Singer

Ferreol Babin

OUGD601 / First Thoughts

What is the value of hand made design within the 21st century?

First thoughts...

- what is the value in an age where everything is mass produced and digital?
- has it affected the culture of modern design?
- sustainablility 
- current trends
- philosophies of craft
- impulse / human instinct to make / create with our hands
- connecting through making

LITERATURE 

Craft in Society - An Anthology of Perspectives - Noris Ioannou

Making is Connecting - David Gauntlett

Bauhaus Textiles - Sigrid Wortmann Weltge

Power of Making - Daniel Charny

By Hand, The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art - Shu Hung & Joseph Magliaro

"This book poses incisive questions about the increasing distance people have from making, and the impact de-skilling and the loss of knowledge of how things are made have on innovation, contemporary cultural production and society." - Power of Making, Daniel Charny