Memory Interrupted

Entrance to “Memory Palace”, Porter Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum.

Entrance to “Memory Palace”, Porter Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum.

Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7
18 June to 20 October 2013
Visited 26 June and 15 August 2013

The V&A’s Porter Gallery is, for me, the most engaging space within this behemoth of an institution, site of contemporary design exhibitions that continue to redefine the genre. Adjacent to the main entrance and information desk, it’s perfectly placed for quick-fix visits and the right size to accommodate an exhibition that is immersive but not overwhelming. The icing on the cake would be if all the groundbreaking temporary shows here could be free, so that more visitors might experience the V&A’s cutting edge of curatorship and exhibition design, without a second thought.

Visiting the current show, Memory Palace, the gallery was quiet, not empty, but not teaming like some rooms during the Bowie-Daze and while school was out. The visitors were a diverse bunch though; old, young, locals, tourists, and all very engaged. I asked a guard who confirmed; ”yes, people are reading”.

Disclaimer: If you haven’t seen the exhibition, go see it and don’t bother reading on, as these observations won’t make much sense until you’ve experienced the actual event.
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From the Archive; Design Criticism in New York

This post was originally published on Eye Blog. I’m reposting it because I recently added a separate post about Fiona Raby’s talk at this conference, which provides background to the Dunne & Raby exhibition, “United Micro Kingdoms: A Design Fiction”, reviewed here.

Counterpoint
The 2013 D-Crit Conference, School of Visual Arts, New York City
Attended 11 May 2013

Brigette Brown argues that segregation is alive. Drawing by Nina Frankel.

Brigette Brown argues that segregation is alive. Drawing by Nina Frankel.

Monday 12:15am, 24 June 2013
“Sharing the stage…sharing ideas”
by Liz Farrelly
Originally published on Eye Blog

Five D-Crit students team up with experts to make presentations at their graduate symposium

It’s that time of year again, when a host of graduating art and design students prepare to launch themselves upon the world. The degree shows have gone up and this year’s crew are buzzing with anticipation. That’s fine if your work looks good on a wall or in a gallery. But what about the new breed of design critics on Masters courses on both sides of the Atlantic? Just how do writers make their mark?
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Fiona Raby tells it like it could be

Fiona Raby speaks at Counterpoint
The 2013 D-Crit Conference, School of Visual Arts, New York City
Attended 11 May 2013

View from the stalls.

View from the stalls.

Before hearing Fiona Raby’s talk at this Design Criticism conference in New York City, I had already visited Dunne & Raby’s new exhibition, “United Micro Kingdoms: A Design Fiction”, staged at London’s Design Museum, but the majority of the audience hadn’t. Fiona, however, gave such an insightful explanation of the show that, thanks to my notes from the day, this account of her talk might supplement my previous post about the exhibition, here. Following this is an Archive post from Eye Blog, reporting on the conference.

Fiona describes her practice (Dunne & Raby, est. 1994 in partnership with Anthony Dunne) as dealing with emerging technologies and imagined behaviours. She defines design as “a tool for collective imagining” and designers as “making it tangible”, the aim being to broaden our worldview.
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Show Don’t Tell, with design fiction

Communo-Nuclearists let the train take the strain. Image by Tommaso Landa. ©All rights reserved by d_&_r

Communo-Nuclearists let the train take the strain.
Image by Tommaso Landa
©All rights reserved by d_&_r

United Micro Kingdoms (UmK): a design fiction
Design Museum, Shad Thames, London
1 May to 26 August 2013
Visited 30 April and 15 August 2013

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, attending a Designer Breakfast (8am start!) at the Design Museum, and was invited into the Press View for United Micro Kingdoms. There I bumped into Fiona Raby and Anthony Dunne, the instigators of this groundbreaking exhibition, which is billed as “a design fiction”. True to my journalistic roots, I fired a few questions and scribble some answers, before PRs whisked them away.

Tony and Fiona use design to provoke debate; they call it “critical design”. With “UmK” they’ve created a near-future scenario for our little island, populated by four tribes defined by differing attitudes to technology and ecology. These in turn are manifested as imagined transportation and energy choices, which mirror each tribe’s ethical and ideological beliefs.
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