Flying Animals and Pinocchio in Despair: Maurizio Cattelan at the Guggenheim

While I’ve always appreciated the architecture of the Guggenheim, experiencing Maurizio Cattelan’s retrospective “All” invigorates and enlivens the museum’s iconic shape.  Every piece of artwork Cattelan has produced since 1989 is suspended from the ceiling of the rotunda – it’s no wonder the most impressive exhibit displayed in an already impressive museum makes for tremendous viewing impact!

At first glance, the exhibit looks chaotic and tangled.  As I wandered up the spiral ramps, the layers of art began to appear purposefully hung.  Sculptures reveal themselves as the viewer circles the exhibit.  The Guggenheim website comments, “The exhibition is an exercise in disrespect: the artist has hung up his work like laundry to dry.”  As a viewer, I don’t sense disrespect – I sense an ingenious idea.

Born in Italy in 1960, Cattelan draws on today’s pop culture – combining dark humor and satire with visual one-liners.  And while his work clearly carries an undertone of death (a child-sized Hitler, JFK in a coffin, and an apparent squirrel suicide,) the satiric twist brightens what otherwise would be quite dark work.

I left the exhibit feeling inspired.  I’m not convinced seeing Cattelan’s work individually (and on the ground) would have the same impact on my inner artist.

Stuff I Love: The Desk Project for Kids of Kathmandu

Desk by Nine Stories Furniture

Kids of Kathmandu is a wonderful organization that raises awareness about the needs of orphans in Kathmandu, Nepal through photography and the arts.  For The Desk Project, select New York designers and artists were asked to design and build kids desks which were auctioned off to support the education of orphans in Nepal.  Giving back through design and creativity certainly leads to very inspiring results.

Desk by Made

Desk by Wadaly

Legen…wait for it…Dary! – Finn Juhl

Finn Juhl is one of those designers who simply oozes inspiration.  His designs are modern and warm while his sense of color is playful yet thoughtful.

The Pelican Chair

Juhl's Pivoting & Colorful Cabinet

The Poet

 Juhl has influenced the direction for some of my designs…I am specifically in love with “The Poet,” a sweet sofa that helped guide the development of my “Gatsby” sofa design.

The Gatsby Sofa - Sketch development & final quarter-scale model

Building a Better Mouse Trap

I give the “JT Eaton Multiple Catch Mouse Trap” 5 wonderful stars for helping me humanely and sanely deal with my 2-week annoying apartment pe(s)t.  Instead of dealing with glue traps, snap traps or borrowing my friend’s cat…I took a leisurely stroll to the park where I released the rodent.

...my catch, ick

My little mouse invasion got me thinking about the vast world of design in all of its glory (and gory.)  I’m always looking for gaps in the market and new industry opportunities, but I will never set out to build a better mouse trap and highly doubt I could stomach the pest control product market.  I’m thrilled for the designers out there who don’t mind doing that design dirty work for New York City apartment dwellers like me.

Stuff I Love: Trunki

Out of all the things I could choose to design, I’ve always been drawn to designing furniture and products for kids…it’s my personal passion.  Trunki is one product in the realm of children’s design that I absolutely admire.  Why am I so in love with Trunki?  Because it’s one product in particular that makes me say, “Why didn’t I think of that???”

The idea for Trunki came to designer Rob Law while he was at University.  He was given a luggage design brief and was inspired by child ride-on toys, which he realized could be transformed into useful luggage for kids.  It took 10 years for Law to perfect his ingenious idea…and his persistence certainly paid off!  Trunki is now sold in over 22 countries worldwide.  Visit www.trunki.co.uk for more information.

Stuff I Love: The Nelson Swag Leg Desk

This is my dream desk.  George Nelson’s design, produced in 1958 by Herman Miller, is modern with a pop of quirky.  The colorful dividers had me at “Hello”…they give the simple desk a touch of happiness, which is what I always fall for in furniture. 

“Memory” at the Guggenheim: An Astounding Installation

A recent visit to the Guggenheim had me feeling deeply moved and absolutely invigorated.  I haven’t had such a strong reaction to a work of art in awhile, and I was thrilled to feel such a connection to this particular piece.  “Memory” is an installation at the Guggenheim by London-based sculptor and Turner prize winner, Anish Kapoor.  Built from thin steel, “Memory” is a large and bulbous form built tightly in a small room.  Its placement forces viewers to catch mere glimpses of its entirety from specific vantage points around the museum.

On one white wall is a canvas-sized cut-out, which lets the viewer look inside the hollow sculpture.  You are looking into absolute darkness…formless contained inside form…an idea that I find absolutely inspiring!  This view of “Memory” had my jaw on the floor.  It toyed with my mind as I wanted to believe this was simply a painting in front of me.  Museums are places where we are conditioned to look at form.  To be staring into man-made darkness while at the Guggenheim was very interesting and exciting!

An exterior view of "Memory"

My favorite part of the installation: The canvas-sized cut-out lets viewers look inside Memory's steel form.

One of the narrow vantage points to view the installation's exterior

My next move????

May I say on behalf of all current job-seeking college graduates…Bravo Alex Kearns!  In July, the 23-year-old graduate from Swansea University took to the streets to advertise himself for employment by hanging a giant resume from a monument in London’s Trafalgar Square.  And it WORKED!  Kearns was soon approached to interview for a job and is now working as a sales associate at the International Business Development Group.

Kearns says, “I saw it as an opportunity to sell myself.  I had applied to hundreds of jobs but nobody was giving me a chance.”

I love the Daily Mail’s title:

“The art of finding work: Unemployed graduate bags top job by unfurling giant CV on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth.”

Finding work really has become somewhat of an “art.”  A creative mind will discover hidden opportunities in this job market.

And if it takes finding the nearest monument…I just might start climbing.

Designing with Jell-O

I passed Washington Square Park today and couldn’t help but notice the multitude of purple NYU banners screaming the start of a new school year.  A woman holding some fliers stopped me at the street corner and excitedly asked, “Are you a student?!”

“No.”  I replied, and kept on walking.

No I am not a student anymore.  I am a recent college graduate.  A proud college graduate with a BA in Product Design.  And I am aspiring to be a furniture designer.

Braving the 2009 job market along with millions of other recent graduates makes me nostalgic for the title of “Student”.  Life as a design student is incredibly challenging, but overall it is a relatively safe world.  You can…and are encouraged…to take risks 100% wholeheartedly.  Design a shirt that morphs into a toaster!  Build a chair out of Jell-o if you want!  Why?  Because I’m a student, and I want to experiment with Jell-o as a medium to build with even though it is completely impractical and not consumer friendly!  And if there is a time to build a Jell-o chair…it’s now….as a student.  You can think as far outside the box as you want because in school…there is no box (at least, I never saw a box.)  But in the real world at a real design company the reality is that people are trying to sell real things to real people.

Now, I have never tried designing a Jell-o chair, nor will I ever try to create a shirt that morphs into a toaster.  But as a student, I have certainly had my share of Jell-o moments.

At a design workshop in Germany, my group and I donned wet suits and wandered through a town in Stuttgart handing out smiley faced stickers for a project we titled, “Have you Laughed Today?” (aka “Lachhaft”)

Yes, that was a design project.

Though I’ve lost my title of “Student,” in July I gained the title of “Intern.”

And soon I hope to officially achieve the title of “Designer.” (minus the flippers.)

My "Jell-O Moment"

Group partner Piet playing postman

Our group waddling through Stuttgart