What is iconic today? (Part 2)

There are few moments in life where a simple but profound statement can define our thinking forever. It happened to me during a lecture I once attended on the recondite subject of financing models for cultural initiatives, when the speaker said: 

"... the value of art is in conversation ..."

Perhaps it is a simplistic view but I have often engaged in discussions with friends about what makes a painting, a photo, a musical composition, a building or an interior be associated with Art. All too often our exchanges hover around issues of taste or currents or social structures or historical context, or just plain old "educated art criticism".

However simple, the notion that art has value when it animates human communication resonated with me. I don't think art is about taste or fashion, or even schools of thought. Artistic creations that have value are the ones that are able to generate sophisticated exchanges of thoughts and ideas, that make us question assumptions and preconceived notions. 

Real art generates timeless interest because it provides an answer to many questions, and sometimes many answers to the same question.

In my last blog post, I discussed the over-use of the word "iconic" to describe  aspirations of very diverse examples of contemporary design. Too many times we see “iconic” mistaken for authenticity, for picturesque or for elegance. People tend to confuse the meaning of iconic traits with memes, or with pastiches and replications of what was once original and modern.

On some level, I think that it is partially the result of a declining importance of cultural studies, and it is also the result of the loss of the richness of language in the abbreviations and zingers popular in the modern ways of communication. But it is also because we aren't always as demanding as we should be in the recognition of artistic creations.

Not all experimentation is Art, in the same way that not all writing is literature. Art, as well as Design, must question assumptions, generate dialogue, provoke thoughts and leave us wanting to explore it further. And in the case of Design, if those concepts can translate into reality and they transcend the thinking of their time, then we can start thinking about  calling them "iconic", and most of all start thinking about calling them Art.

I find many examples today of artists that have been pushing the boundaries of their time, creatively as well as scientifically. These are some of those that I believe have been enriching our conversations:


Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid creates buildings and spaces that define the transition of architecture to the 21st century, but she also creates important moments in cityscapes that are identifiable and push the boundaries of the built environment. She innovates with shapes around building functions and explores materials and aesthetics with elegance and originality. And not only her buildings, but her drawings are Art, and they generate their own conversation.

Architectural art by Zaha Hadid

Christo & Jeanne-Claude

Jeanne-Claude & Christo (Sydney Morning Herald - 14/12/2007)

My first exposure to Christo's work was with his Pont-Neuf project in 1985. I was in Paris on a school holiday walking around near Ile-de-la-Cite and did not understand at first why the bridge was wrapped. It looked like it was under construction by the cleanest and most careful builders. The loud arguing I could hear was not surprising in France, but it was only when I realized that people were arguing about the wrapping, and whether it was art or not, that it struck me how fabulous the idea was and how it created spontaneous dialogue between strangers about their involvement in an artistic experiment.

The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85, by Wolfgang Volz

When I got back home I researched the artist, in the old fashioned library-kind-of-way. I learned how his projects focused on the conversation that can be generated about the things that surround us and that can be viewed in a different way. A few years later I became good friends with someone who knew Christo personally and had spent time with him during the Reichstag project. It was wonderful to hear first-hand what his process was and the thoughts he expressed were while working over the scale models. In 2005, on a cold February morning, I experienced the Gates in Central Park, with sheer luck that a business trip coincided with the event. Christo & Jeanne-Claude are true icons of contemporary art, and their creations will last though imagery and oral tradition. I for one will continue talking about their work.

The Gates, Central Park, NY, 1979-2005 Photo: Wolfgang Volz

©2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Dianne von Furstenberg

If there is one artistic discipline that intersects with interior design in ways that prove mutually inspiring, that's fashion. Wherever designers explore colors, patterns and textures, we learn from their experiences. DVF has always had a particular appeal to me, and she is quite unique in her style. I think bold statements with pattern are difficult to achieve in a tasteful way but she rarely misses the mark on elegance and sophistication, whether it is one of her signature wrap dresses or a long gown. I think she is a true definer of the taste of her time. Oh, and my wife has never looked so beautiful as in one of her black and white color-blocked dresses...

Color blocking: trendy or timeless?

I lived this year's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in a particularly intense way as my wife covered the Jason Wu for Brizo Collection for her blog Dec-a-Porter. As I browsed through photos of the new collections, it struck me that color-blocking seems to make a comeback with some regularity. It is almost originally predictable. I wonder if color blocking is a recurrent trend, or rather a timeless fashion statement? There is no doubt that when used well, it can be very elegant and effective, but we have also seen the easily forgettable cases of simplistic adaptation.

                                                                                              BCBGMAXAZRIA

Drawing a parallel with my world of interiors and architecture, I tried to remember when I have seen it used effectively in the built environment, and when it has fallen short of what solid colors can achieve when used with talent.

A recent Dezeen feature on the Hotel Modez in Arnhem came to mind, where the ubiquitous QR-codes were used as decoration, framed by blocks of black and white. I am not sure if this is the kind of room that Philip K. Dick might have had in mind when he wrote about the way androids dream, but it must be close.

                                                                        QR-Code Hotel Room by Antoine Peters 

Beyond this unusual example, my mind wandered towards images that have been more inspirational to me, and bursts of my favorite abstract expressionist painter popped-up. I have always been captivated by Rothko's pulsating canvases, and if they are not entirely the result of pure blocking, those large juxtaposed color spaces are both mesmerizing and soothing.

                                                                                                                                      Mark Rohtko 

Luis Barragan achieve the same serene tension in his interiors with the use of color to define surfaces and architectural elements, and I think he created unmistakably timeless spaces that recurrently provide inspiration for the newer archetypes.

                                                                                              Casa Gilardi (1975) - Luis Barragan

On a more artistic level, the use of sharp, well-defined color blocks to influence human interaction with the urban world has been a theme in the work of artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which illuminated another New York catwalk with their Central Park The Gates project in 2005. New Yorkers that were lucky to experience this site-specific artwork will probably never again see the color orange in the same way.

                                                                                          The Gates (2005) - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

I think color is a crucial element in the creation of the visual environment, and if the richness of layered spaces can often be key to achieving comfort, a wise and talented use of color in its simplest form can achieve simultaneously a fashionable and timeless quality that so many designs aspire to.

Some great examples are:

The work of Karim Rashid, in particular his Semiramis Hotel in Athens, where blocks of colored glass not only define the spaces, but they also influence the way guests transition from one to the other.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Semiramis (Athens, Greece)

The Saguaro in Palm Springs is a colorful oasis, where all the side-by-side hues achieve a visually striking effect that flows from exterior to interior.

Architects Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat infused local color into the building around a palette of 12 vibrant tones found in native desert wildflowers.

The colors adorn each balcony and patio, enlivening the indoor areas and spilling to the outdoor public spaces. The color set follows the light spectrum, which in turn creates different perspectives of the hotel according to the time of day.

The Saguaro Palm Springs

And finally, a hotel that I wish I could call my regular hang-out, the Gramercy Park Hotel. I love how the blocks of varying tones of red color punctuate the spaces, and define this intriguing and fashionable New York sanctuary.

                                                                                                             Gramercy Park Hotel - Lobby