Backgrounded—Identity Sightings by Rick Valicenti

Installation views: Backgrounded: Identity Sightings by Rick Valicenti, Artist-in-Residence, Loyola University, Chicago, 2016-17 (iPhone photographs, Translucent window vinyl).
Out of focus yet pres­ent — [persons] behind those captioned in the NY Times, 2013–16. From the exhibition: (maybe) THIS TIME at Loyola University Ralph Arnold Gallery. (the exhibition has ended. photographs courtesy of Thirst/3st)

From the exhibition prospectus: “Not everyone is the focus of media attention. This portraiture looked on those positioned behind captioned subjects featured in the NY Times.”

Having seen this show in October I’ve pondered this piece:

The correlation of recognition and memory—
For his solo exhibition at Loyola, Valicenti works within the neutral wall color of the gallery space while brilliantly utilizing the picture window of the gallery to reach out to those on the street and audiences beyond the gallery. Galleries tend to disengage artifacts from the outside world, but Valicenti as both artist and curator does not circumvent the gallery. Instead he projects its contents to the public, which is quite amazing.

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A signature piece: Rick Valicenti’s “A Wheel of Fortune—Round and Round”

From the exhibition: (maybe) THIS TIME
Rick Valicenti
Loyola University Artist-in-Residence, 2016–17
Ralph Arnold Gallery
11 October – 26 November 2016

Chicago based artist/designer Rick Valicenti’s Wheel of Fortune—Round and Round installation artwork seems to be a hybrid and hyperbolic time piece with a subtle note of George Nelson’s modern clock designs. The light rays emanating from the center hint at Bernini’s Ecstasy, while the centralized casting of a “death mask” accents the vanitas genre without the moralizing. The piece is a roulette and metaphor for all the small deeds of civility. Photograph above used with permission.

Wheel of Fortune 2016
Industrial Felt
60 x 60"
Fabricated by West Supply
Unique

Round and Round 2016
Polished Aluminum
72 x 72"
In collaboration with Taek Kim
Fabricated by West Supply
Unique

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Chad Kouri: perceptual distortions

Chad Kouri
Xerograph Monotype Exercises
8 x 10—2013
© Chad Kouri

This is one of the pieces by Chad Kouri, which was on display at the 2013 Pop-up Exhibition: “Re/View, Work at Play” that ran during June in Block Thirty Seven at the Chicago Design Museum. The exhibition ran concurrently with Chicago Design Week. photo by versluis

The following information is taken for the exhibition label:

This series of ongoing experiments utilizes imagery from Jean Larcher's Geometrical Designs and Optical Art, which were created by dragging the book over the Xerox glass while a copy was in process. By using a machine whose sole purpose is to make multiples in order to create unique prints, the illusion not only lies in the work's aesthetic value, but also in concept—touching on contemporary themes in art and design including image usage and copyright, appropriation, authorship and originality.

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“Anamorphose”: an anamorphic / metamorphosis, metaphoric typeface by Simon Renaud

X, Y, Z
A is a name (Simon Renaud), Photographer: Véronique Pêcheux
15¾ x 23⅜ — 2013

This piece was featured in the 2013 Pop-up Exhibition: Re/View, Work at Play which ran during June in Block Thirty Seven at the Chicago Design Museum. The exhibition ran concurrently with Chicago Design Week. photo by versluis

The exhibition label for this piece states:

Anamorphose is a contemporary typeface drawn in a three dimensional grid that, while rethought to exist in a physical space, retains elements of Textura (used in the Gutenberg Bible). Anamorphose is anchored in the geometry of historic Blackletter typefaces and is created by hand. The forms are then photographed to visually echo digitally rendered imagery.

A is name is a Parisian studio founded by Simon Renaud and Jérémie Nuel in 2006. Their work centers on the design process in order to discover the artistry found in typographic forms and systems. As graphic designers, Renaud and Nuel utilize a systematic approach and methodology by researching the history of writing, science, and technology in order to develop an uniquely personal visual language.

Reference:
Leeman, Frederick, Joost Elffers, and Mike Schuyt. “Anamorphosen.” Trans. Ellyn Childs Allison and Margaret L. Kaplan. Hidden Images: Games of Perception, Anamorphic Art, Illusion. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1976. Print.

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AIGA Chicago’s 2012 Design Thinking Series I — Rob Giampietro: designer, writer, critic, curator, and educator.

Rob Giampietro’s fast-paced presentation at AIGA Chicago’s Design Thinking Series took place last Thursday night in the classy glass auditorium at Morningstar, Inc. AIGA Chicago’s biennial Design Thinking Series promotes the idea that “Design is always changing. It continually transforms how we engage with each other and our world in new and exciting ways. New processes, strategies and technologies are invented. Historical precedents are reevaluated and critiqued. Innovative storytelling and narrative techniques are formed.”

The April 12 event was first in the 2012 series. The summary and essence of Giampietro’s thesis is how writing informs graphic design practice—specifically, how the cooperative of writing, criticism, and graphic design articulate metaphorical ideas as messages to audiences. For Giampietro “metaphorical systems” are directly correlated to the design process and linked to form making. As a graphic designer and educator Rob Giampietro’s research and writing helps him, as he says, “reflect on ideas more deeply.”

Concerning criticism and metaphor here are some excerpts from Rob’s presentation slides:

Criticism at its core is merely the act of revealing links between objects. —Rachel Rosenfelt, Editor-in-Chief, “The New Inquiry” 

In addition:  

The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one thing in terms of another. —George Lakoff & Mark Johnson, “Metaphors we Live By”

1. Metaphors are conceptual; they’re not just a matter of words. 
2. Concepts are not always literal; many ontological concepts are highly metaphorical.…

Rob Giampietro, a principal at Project Projects, helped to design the SALT identity system in 2011. Above is a photo of the SALT identity installation (centered) as it appeared at Walker Art Center’s, Graphic Design: Now in Production show earlier this year. The identity is comprised of the “suggestive” (allusive) typeface Kraliçe, designed by Timo Gaessner. According to Ellen Lupton, in the exhibition catalog, “The graphic identity for SALT, a cultural institution in Istanbul, avoids the idea of a logo altogether.” photographs by versluis.

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Michiel Schuurman’s posters—near-sighted legibility and far-sighted readability

The highly ambitious exhibition, “Graphic Design: Now in Production” recently completed its run (1.22.12) at Walker Art Center. Included in the show was an intriguing triptych set of posters by Dutch graphic designer, Michiel Schuurman. The pieces were designed over a two-year period from 2007–08 for “HorseMoveProjectSpace” in Amsterdam.

Schuurman’s poster designs cleverly synthesize and magnetize the graphics so that the viewer is able to read the information through accessibility of the text. As an analogy—Schuurman’s posters are characterized by near-sighted legibility and far-sighted readability. The poster series promote the “Horse Move Project”, which was an art collaborative project implemented in 2007-08.

The Mediamatic website states this about the project:

The “HorseMoveProjectSpace” is an initiative of three young artists who organized and developed collaborative art projects and exhibitions. They have utilized an abandoned space next to the Post CS building in a, site-sensitive, site-specific way. The project space is correlated with the Stedelijk Museum, W139, and Mediamatic.

For the next three months artists will be invited (the invited artist invites the next artist) in an ongoing exhibition named The Horse Move Project. The project outcome is an additive process, which creates an amalgamation from the exhibited artwork(s) left by the previous artists.

Schuurman’s website interestingly conveys a summary of his work:

[Michiel] is a Dutch graphic designer working in Amsterdam. Schuurman’s personal work specializes in typography and poster design, which often boasts a rather maximalistic approach. His practice of combining bright colors, warped glyphs, harsh perspectives, and acidic patterns creates some awfully intriguing eye-candy, which he often screen prints himself.

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2011 CIVA Biennial Conference: The Future of Matter/The Future of Paradise

Photograph by versluis, 2011

A panel discussion about the acclaimed Biola University’s Visionary-in-Residence Program, Los Angeles. The 2011 CIVA Biennial Conference, Saturday afternoon, 18 June.

Pictured left to right: John Chan, the 2011 Biola Visionary-in-Residence; along with the following Biola University faculty: Barry Krammes, Professor of Art and Biola University Gallery Director; Astri Swendsrud, Adjunct Professor of Art; Daniel Callis, Professor of Drawing & Painting and serves as co-director of the Urban Studies Program at Biola; Brent Ridley, Associate Professor of Physical Science.

The 2011 CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts) Biennial Conference was held at Biola University in Los Angeles, from June 16-19. The theme of the conference was Matter and Spirit: Art and Belief in the Digital Age. The conference was structured by three major themes:

Why Matter Matters: Technology and the Created Order
The Problem of Matter: Technology and the History of Art-Making
The Future of Matter: Technology, Art-Making, and Hope

On the final afternoon of the conference a panel discussion was held highlighting the 2011 Biola University Visionary-in-Residence Program. For 2011, John K. Chan was selected by the Biola University Art Department as it’s Visionary-in-Residence. And John was present to help elaborate on the theme: “The Future of Paradise: Projective Ecologies of Second Nature” a topic that coincided with the final Conference theme and presentation of “The Future of Matter.”

When John asks students about what they think of when they hear the word “Paradise” — their predominate response is a stereotypical Eastern tropical paradise. However, the promotional materials for Biola’s 2011 Visionary-in-Residence Program says this:

From the resplendent ecology of Eden to the celestial archetype of New Jerusalem, the Biblical narrative begins in the garden and ends in the city. The Future of Paradise is an interdisciplinary exploration of this cosmological narrative, through the vantages of art, architecture, sociology, theology and ecology, aspiring to critically examine our cultural conditionings and their contribution to the escalating ecological crisis all around us, while also reclaiming the disintegrating connection between our bodies and the biosphere.

In addition, the CIVA materials states:

John Chan is an Environmental Designer, Assoc. AIA, and is a LEED Accredited Professional with a portfolio of notable architectural projects ranging from large-scale master planning and institutional buildings to idiosyncratic, small-scale residential structures. Chan currently investigates the meaningful integration of ecological intelligence within the collaborative dialogue of design. In 2008, John established Formation Association, an Environmental Design Collaborative.

The Formation Association is involved in a variety of very interesting projects.

Addendum: Coincidently and interestingly, John Thackara in “Design Observer” gives a brief report about the current exhibition in Paris called The Fertile City: Towards An Urban Nature.

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Pyramide du Louvre: a melding of the old and new

I.M. Pei, architect
Pyramide du Louvre, Paris, France.
Entrance to the Musée du Louvre, The Louvre palace (Richelieu wing)
Photograph by versluis © 2010

I.M. Pei’s glass and steel “geometric” pyramid, which was commissioned in 1984 and completed in 1989, seems to emerge from underground to push a contrast between the old and the new. As a result the pyramidal structure represents an undeniable quality of modernity in contemporary culture and the compelling impact of design. [1]

In the reference book, A Global History of Architecture the authors give some insight and a brief context to the Pyramide du Louvre :

Postmodern Museum

Throughout the 19th century and into a good part of the 20th, the museum carried with it the imprint [of neoclassicism] of the Enlightenment. The ordering of space, the systematization of knowledge, and the owning of precious objects went hand in hand with the conception of history, the advances of archaeology, and the understandings of art.…

But by the 1990s, with the boom in the global economy and a heightened competition for tourist dollars, the museums soon became more than just signs of a city’s cultural strength; they had become instrumental to the economies of entire regions. A blockbuster exhibition could bring in millions of dollars in secondary revenue and taxes. If there is one buildings type that piqued the interest of architects, planners, politicians, and the public alike, it was the museum. What the civic center or philharmonic hall had been in the 1960s, the pedestrian zone in the 1980s, the museum had become in the 1990s. The transition began with the Neue Staatsgalerie by James Stirling (1977-83 and was completed by the time of the opening of the Pyramide du Louvre by I.M. Pei in 1989.… [2]

1. Ching, Francis D.K., Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramaditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. 1st edition. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007. 749. Print.
2. Ibid.

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versatile and entrepreneurial—Leanne Shapton

Style & Design: The Design 100—Summer 2008 Supplement to TIME.
Editor: Kate Betts
Design Director: Henry Connell
Illustration: Leanne Shapton
Publisher: TIME
From the collection of David Versluis

On the cover for this supplement to TIME magazine is an illustration by Leanne Shapton. In this piece Shapton responds to and interprets a [“Tripods”] lamp (see below) by Finnish designer Janne Kyttänen, which he did for Freedom of Creation. According to the designer the lamp was inspired by the coneflower.

Especially noteworthy is that Leanne Shapton, a graphic designer, illustrator, and writer, was listed first in TIME's The Design 100, which featured “the people and ideas behind today’s most influential design.” The lead-in statement to The Design 100 showcase states: “Great design is no longer reserved solely for museum–worthy products, as multitasking designers turn their attention to everything from books to artisanal food, and from lighting to transportation.”

Editor Kate Betts states, “In the tradition of versatile designers, Canadian-born Shapton not only designs book covers (and, incidentally, the cover of this magazine) but also writes and illustrates books, including Was She Pretty?, a collection of stories published in 2006. A former art director for Toronto-based Saturday Night, Shapton now draws illustrations for magazines, designs textiles, paints and edits an imprint, J&L Books, specializing in art and photography books.”

Shapton’s drawings and graphic design consists of brush and ink on paper accompanied by hand lettered text. Each hand drawn illustration and images seems to convey a strong personal touch. Her images humanize and resonate organically with physical characteristics while utilizing digital technology production techniques.

It’s interesting that this optimistic issue was published in the summer 2008 and just a few months before the failure of some very large U.S. financial corporations that Fall. Perhaps as economic issues continue—we’d like to see a follow-up The Design 100 issue come out soon.

Table Light (610_Table)
Designer: Janne Kyttänen 2005
Color: (Shade/Base) White/Black
Shade material: Laser Sintered Polyamide
Pole material: Powder coated stainless steel

Product photograph

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Bucky Fuller: from grain bin house to dome house

I’m going by memory, but I once read or heard architect Philip Johnson, who while traveling through farm country, referred to the ubiquitous metal grain bins as “Bucky Fullers.”

Metal grain bins near Morris, Illinois.
Photograph copyright © 2009 David M. Versluis.

Dymaxion Deployment Unit (18-foot diameter), 1941. Diazotype, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries.

This technical drawing illustrates Fuller’s concept to convert, Butler manufactured, grain bins into low-cost housing units/shelters called DDUs (Dymaxion Deployment Units). During World War II, the U.S. Military would transport, sometimes utilizing helicopters, these “units” for troops in isolated locations. Dymaxion is a neologism constructed from the words dynamic, maximum, and ion, which became a trademark for several Fuller projects. Perhaps the DDU was the precursor to the geodesic dome?

Recently, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago held the R. Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller (1895–1983) traveling retrospective exhibition, Starting with the Universe. The exhibition brochure states that Fuller was: “…one of the 20th century’s first truly interdisciplinary thinkers, explored a wide range of fields—including architecture, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, navigation, philosophy, and visual art—in his attempt to discover what one person could do to best serve the needs of humanity.” In addition, to disseminate his ideas, Fuller wrote more than twenty books.

Tetrahedra, Sphere and Geodesic Dome

In general, Fuller wanted people to find expression and realization in the space they inhabited and felt this was possible in the geodesic dome. Geodesic comes from the Greek—geo (earth) and daiesthai (to divide). The dome could be thought of as a reduction of architectural form to an engineering solution resulting in a universal structure that allows nature to coexist within it. The dome is also a perfect icon of faith in the machine, which Fuller believed could change the world. The possibilities of the dome or, rather, sphere are compelling because it has no limit to the freedom of uninterrupted interior space. Additionally, the essence of the sphere is utter simplicity and geometric perfection yet expresses infinite variety (the play of light, pattern, etc., but also the contradiction of lightness/strength in contrast to heaviness/weakness).


This is a short film clip about Buckminster Fuller’s dome home. In the clip Bucky is singing part of his ‘Rome Home to a Dome’ song.

Back in 1975 my brother, Steve, brought home a copy of the Last Whole Earth Catalog. What was most interesting, in that issue, was the detailed and illustrated article about the sustainable geodesic domes—I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to live in a dome. In fact, my excitement escalated because, at the same time, somebody about a mile from where I grew up had built a dome from a kit—just as Bucky Fuller did in Carbondale, Illinois in the 1960s.

Photograph of the dome house, near our old place, as it looks today. Copyright © 2009 David M. Versluis.

Wikipedia states the following about the Whole Earth Catalog: “Early editions reflected the considerable influence of Fuller, particularly his teachings about whole systems, synergetics, and efficiency or reducing waste.”

Ironically, now with emphasis in architecture and ecology as pertaining to LEED certification Fuller’s ideas seem very current and relevant. However, I wonder about Fuller’s understanding of aesthetics within the context of scientific naturalism. This causes me to try and think past the old nature–freedom issues.

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