D|MA Erkki Huhtamo [Lecture #2]

ERKKI HUHTAMO – LOST (AND FOUND0 IN THE THIRD DIMENSION: STEROSCOPY AND THE ARTISTIC IMAGINATION

First, and foremost, I have to say that watching Huhtamo lecture is always a treat! He is so full of life and it’s pretty infectious. I really do miss his Design 10A class. I think all DESMA classes need to be lectured on Maywa Denki, just as Huhtamo had. 

D|MA Pae White [Lecture #1]

The Pae White Lecture on Tuesday October 11^th, was pretty educational. I liked her viewpoint on public art. In one of her first shows after graduating, she focused on the textile designer Vera Newman. It interested me that she used her connection and nostalgia to this designer to create her own vision. By taking/collecting different textile pieces, such as scarves, napkins, and tablecloths, White was able to represent her feelings and memories though Newman’s work. White ended up taking all of those textile pieces and shielding them under glass, and spreading them miscellaneously around the American Center in Paris. White used the outdoor space to represent her work, and made mini retrospectives. The fact that she used the actual pieces and did not make replicas was refreshing. She said that she wanted the textiles to fade to show the passing of time. As stated by White, “The fragility and the inevitable damage of the piece,” is something that is far more intriguing.

I loved that White got very technically descriptive with her work. We have often had brilliant designers come and speak, but only mention the conceptual aspects of their work. That is wonderful, but I feel that the fact that she spoke about the “how” really helped solidify her work’s importance, and even tangibility.

I was also drawn to her viewpoint on graphic design. White said that she “used graphic design as a way to make art.” Brian Eno, Peter Norton, and Peter Schmidt came together in the 1970’s and made a deck of cards that had 100 phrases that would stimulate brainstorming and creative thought. After Norton bought the rights, he came to White to ask her to design the deck. Her candidness about the fact that she didn’t know how to use Illustrator until that assignment was inspirational. It was a good reminder that often times we, as students, may go into assignments or jobs without previous knowledge of the tools which we need to use. Regardless, we learn through the process, just as she had.

She was a very honest/candid speaker, which I definitely appreciated.